


Exploration

by underworld_kings18



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Daemons, Episode: s01e01-e02 Rising, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, No DADT, Outer Space, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Space Vampires, Threesome - F/F/M, Wormholes, Wraith, a dumb rule anyway, blanks, somewhat canon compliant, soul separation sickness, the lost city of atlantis - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:15:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 31,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28875537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/underworld_kings18/pseuds/underworld_kings18
Summary: the chance to explore another galaxy with their soulmate? not exactly something anyone would pass up
Relationships: Daniel Jackson/Jack O'Neill (briefly), Evan Lorne/Original Female Character(s), Evan Lorne/Teyla Emmagan/Female Original Character, Evan Lorne/Teyla Emmagan/Jaylah McKay, John Sheppard/Adrian Emmagan, John Sheppard/Original Male Character(s), Teyla Emmagan/Evan Lorne, Teyla Emmagan/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. Cast

**Author's Note:**

> MAIN CAST  
> Sophie Skelton as Lt Colonel M. Jaylah McKay, Ares - Canadian Timber Wolf (OC)  
> Kavan Smith as Major Evan B. Lorne, Wendy - Asiatic Black Bear (can manipulate her size to suit situations)  
> Rachel Luttrell as Teyla Emmagan, Rocha - Arctic Fox (Athosian Tolka)  
> Joe Flanigan as Major John P. Sheppard, Nymeria - Osprey  
> Joseph Morgan as Adrian Emmagan, Sea - Red Panda (Athosian Red Tail) (OC)
> 
> I'll add the other OC's when the situations call for it, but these extra's will be the most featured in the chapters
> 
> Normally i don't post stories where i'm using OC's, but i feel like this one could do so well

**lieutenant colonel/colonel maryanne jaylah mckay**   
_ "canadian air force" _   
**sophie skelton**

_animal spirit ; ares - canadian timber wolf_

_"i hate you."_

-

**major/lt colonel evan lorne**   
_"united states air force"_   
**kavan smith**

_animal spirit ; wendy - asiatic black bear_

_"i never thought i'd see the day, truth be told."_   
  


-  
  


**teyla emmagan**   
_"athosian leader"_   
**rachel luttrell**

_animal spirit ; rocha - athosian white tolka (earth arctic fox)_

_"the ways are my people are simple, colonel. you will both learn with time."_   
  


-  
  


**doctor meredith rodney mckay**   
_"canadian astrophysicist"_   
**david hewlett**

_animal spirit ; ada - the black panther_

_"i hate stupid people. all my people are stupid people. i am surrounded by stupid people!"_   
  


-  
  


**malachai duedione**   
_"former ancient scientist/general"_   
**hale appleman**

_animal spirit ; aurellio - flying lemur monkey_

_"i de-ascended because i was broken. then i met you, and suddenly everything felt right."  
_ (season 3)  
  


-  
  


**major/lt colonel john sheppard**   
_"united states air force"_   
**joe flanigan**

_animal spirit ; nymeria - osprey_

_"are you sure you don't want this command?"_   
  


-  
  


**adrian emmagan**   
_"athosian guard"_   
**joseph morgan**

_animal spirit ; sea - athosian red tail (earth red panda)_

_"leave me alone."_   
  


-  
  


**lieutenant kaia kallen**   
_"azgedan soldier"_   
**nina dobrev**

_animal spirit ; penny - azgedan warrior cat (earth maine coon)_

_"talk about rude."  
_ (season 2)  
  


-  
  


**specialist ronon dex**   
_"satedan specialist"_   
**jason momoa**

_animal spirit ; roma - sateaden battle cat (earth white lion)_

_"i never wanted this for her. a life burdened to run until the day she lost me to the wraith. it's my worst nightmare."  
  
_ (season 2)

\--

rest of the stargate atlantis cast as themselves

Torri Higginson _as_ Doctor Elizabeth Weir, Orion - Black Labrador  
Rainbow Sun Francks _as_ Lieutenant Aiden Ford, Kali - Spider Monkey  
Paul McGillion _as_ Doctor Carson Beckett, Bex - Grey Squirrel

EXTRA;  
Scott Eastwood _as_ Master Gunnery Sergeant Robert Stackhouse, Hypnos - Hyena  
Michael K. Williams _as_ Staff Sergeant Jamie Markham, Tyra - Bengal Tiger  
Zachary Quinto _as_ Lance Corporal Zach Reid, Marie - Porcupine (OC) (can change size when the situation calls for it)  
  



	2. Prologue

_earth..._

in a snowy landscape several million years ago, a small ship able to fit through the stargate flies towards the city ship of atlantis. inside the city, a man and a women exchange wordless, emotional gazes as the jumper approached the dock. The man left and she watched him depart with a wistful gaze, then stared out the window towards the cityscape of atlantis, the city glittering in the moonlight. the city launched into the sky, leaving earth behind for the last time, and won't return for another few million years


	3. One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> meet the mckay's!!

**__ **

**__ **

**_Season 1 Episode 1 & 2: Rising_ **   
**_part 1..._ **

_ancient outpost..._

Inside the Antarctic Outpost, an elevator lowered Doctor Elizabeth Weir into the Ancient Outpost with her small soul animal sitting by her feet, looking as curious as Orion, a black Labrador, can. Personnel are milling around, scientists and soldiers that are either part of the stargate program or official members of the Expeditions, attending to their duties and conducting experiments and tests on Ancient devices that have been discovered in the Outpost. Doctor Peter Grodin is studying an inactive drone weapon they had found in the outpost, his soul Ziggy, a pale-throated Sloth wrapped around his neck and shoulders and pretty much passed out asleep. The sloth was one of the more relaxed of the animals brought into the outpost, which also brought a level of chill to the others who felt uneasy.

" _This is Operations. General O'Neill and Lt Colonel McKay are inbound, 20 minutes out_."

Elizabeth made her way through the outpost, stopping beside Peter who nodded politely and greeted her.

"Doctor Weir, Orion."

"Peter, Ziggy." She watched him for a moment before changing direction and heading towards the Ancient Outpost Chair Room, where Doctor Rodney McKay and his soul, a sleek black panther he named Ada, and Doctor Carson Beckett and his soul Bex, a grey squirrel, are working, trying to make the chair work.

"You see? Nothing." Carson argued as he got up from the chair, glaring angrily and walked away from the chair. Bex was perched on Carson's shoulder, and was glaring at McKay and Ada.

"Carson, get back here." Rodney demanded, but the Scottish Doctor ignored him and stalked past Elizabeth and Orion.

"I could sit in that chair all bloody day long, and nothing will happen. It's a waste of time. Excuse me, Doctor Weir, Orion." He disappeared round the corner, and Elizabeth stared after them for a moment.

"He's not even trying." Rodney protested, waving his arms around in annoyance. Ada let out a low whine, sensing her souls distress and licked his hand.

"He's the one who discovered the gene this technology responds to." Elizabeth said in confusion.

"Yeah, well, he said he wished he never had it."

"Really?" She arched a brow in surprise at the Astrophysicist.

"I know. Can you believe that?"

"We could always test you a third time, Rodney." Elizabeth teased, knowing how much it irked the doctor that his sister had tested positive for the gene while he hadn't.

"That's very funny."

"We have only found a handful of people who are genetically compatible with the Ancient technology, and despite your heroic efforts to interface ours with theirs, we need every one of them to sit in this chair, including Doctor Beckett."

"What am I supposed to do? He's afraid of the thing." Rodney complained, and Elizabeth chuckled. Orion sniffed around the chair, while the sleek panther following the dog with an air of curiosity.

"This chair controls the most powerful weapons known to humankind. I'm afraid of the thing." Rodney rolled his eyes but silently agreed with Elizabeth's assessment. "But every time someone sits in it, we learn something new about the Ancients who built this outpost. Doctor Beckett should be proud he's genetically advanced."

"It's not more advanced. It is a random characteristic." Rodney grumbled.

"This really bothers you, this whole gene thing, huh?" Elizabeth asked shrewdly.

"Oh, clearly, I am overcome with envy." Rodney said sarcastically, giving Elizabeth a look but was interrupted by Doctor Daniel Jackson and his soul - a white slightly larger than average cat, he informed them she was an abydonian hunting cat, with blue and green eyes named Raven - came rushing in with a wild look on his face. The cat seemed more relaxed, but circled Daniel's feet.

"Ah, just the people I need to see." He turned and they rushed away again, and Rodney and Elizabeth exchange a look just as he doubled back and motioned for them to follow him.

"Come with me."  
  
  
  


_daniel's research lab..._

Elizabeth, Orion, Rodney and Ada follow Daniel and Raven into another room within the Outpost that is filled with computer monitors that are displaying Stargate Addresses and table tops covered in Star Charts. Daniel goes over to a whiteboard that's covered in Stargate Chevrons, Rodney and Elizabeth coming to stand in front of it. The three animals sit by their humans feet.

"We've gotten closer and closer to finding the location of the Lost City, but it turns out we've been looking in the wrong place all along." Daniel began his explanation. "Now, we thought we had a Stargate address — six symbols representing coordinates in space that determined the location of the planet the Ancients went to after they left Antarctica. Now, recently, we determined a seventh symbol." Daniel drew the symbol for earth onto the whiteboard after the sixth symbol.

"The point of origin, Earth." Elizabeth nodded.

"That's not it." Daniel looked excited.

"Then your address must be incorrect." Rodney said, confused.

"Not incorrect. Incomplete." Daniel corrected, drawing another symbol from the chart between the sixth symbol and the earth symbol.

"What are you saying, Doctor Jackson?" Elizabeth asked slowly, intrigued. Daniel labelled the new symbol seven, and Earth as eight.

"It's an eight-symbol address. What we're looking for may be further away than we ever imagined, but it's not out of reach."

"Atlantis." Rodney said in awe and Daniel nodded, agreeing with Rodney.

"Atlantis. I think we can go there."  
  
  
  


_antarctic skies..._

In the air above the Antarctic Landscape, three Air Force officers were seated inside a helicopter as they made their way towards the Ancient Outpost where Major General Jack O'Neill and Bart, a wild Fox that was a little larger than that of an actual fox, of the United States Air Force were headed to check in with the Expedition and with their Soulmate, Doctor Daniel Jackson and Raven were working. It was a well known fact that every member of the military that makes it through basic training also goes through a form of K9 training that teaches you and your soul animal how to work together in the field. It was also known that your soul would be considered the same rank as you, and the vests that they wore to be identified as soldiers would have the same rank your own uniform would. Jack O'Neill was a tall, spry man for his age, with grey hair, blue eyes, wearing a flight bomber jacket with his rank embroidered into the shoulders and was wearing thick winter boots and trousers, a hat and sunglasses on.

Seated in the pilot's seat of the helicopter was Major John Patrick Sheppard of the United States Air Force, and flying several feet in front of the helicopter was his soul, an Osprey with a wingspan of 60cm each way from the middle of her spine, named Nymeria. She, like Bart, wore a flight vest that was thinner and designed specifically for her that identified her as a military bird. John Sheppard had dark messy and definitely non regulation hair under his flight helmet, had aviator sunglasses on his face, wearing thick cold weather boots and trousers and an Air Force flight bomber jacket over his fleece.

And lastly, seated in the back of the Helicopter was Lt Colonel Maryanne Jaylah McKay of the Canadian Royal Air force and her soul, a Mackenzie Valley Wolf that sat at 4ft tall and 6 foot long, fondly named Ares for his fierce protectiveness of both Jaylah and her brother Rodney. Jaylah McKay stood at 5ft 8inches tall, had waist length strawberry blonde hair that was always expertly braided back – today she'd done four braids, two on each side, that met at the nape of her neck and disappeared under the collar of her jacket and with the way they had been done they likely weren't going to be removed for several days. She had a bandana covering her head, fingerless gloves, a headset on, dark sunglasses on her nose, and she was wearing her green BDU's with cold weather boots and thermals underneath - turtlenecked collar and long sleeved. Jay wasn't much paying attention to the conversation between the two Americans, instead playing a game on her PSP.

_"Apache, Blackhawk, Cobra, Osprey..."_

" _It's a lot of training for the Antarctic_." Jack noted casually.

" _It was the one continent I never set foot on_." John said.

" _It's one of my least favourite continents."_ Jack grimaced. He hated the winter, never enjoyed cold weather. Neither did Bart for that matter, even if the Fox was from colder climates.

" _I kind of like it here_." That caught her attention and Jay and Jack looked at the pilot with varied looks of disbelief.

" _You like it here_?"

"Wait, you like it here?" Jay asked, shocked. "Are you two screws short of a hardware store, Major?"

" _A what_?" Jack said to himself, a little confused by that.

" _Yes, sir, ma'am_." John replied. " _And no, i'm not, Colonel. Be there in about ten minutes, sir."_ Jack sat back in his seat and stared at John for a moment with his eyebrows raised, and looked back out the windscreen over the Antarctic landscape. " _You know, Nymeria was the reason i became a pilot_."

" _Really_?" Jack asked the Major.

" _She would always go on about how flying was so exhilarating when i was a kid. I wanted to know how that felt_."

" _And now you know?"_

" _Yes sir, ma'am_." John glanced out the window where Nymeria flew. " _She was absolutely right. Best feeling in the world."_


	4. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> john saves jack and jaylah, and carson decides he hates that damn chair...

_**** _

_**** _

_**season 1 episode 1 & 2 ; rising** _   
_**part 2...** _

_ancient outpost..._

Back in the outpost, Rodney managed to heard Carson back to the Control Chair, but he's anything other than compliant with Rodney's wishes. The grey squirrel chittered angrily at Rodney, but Carson could only hear what Bex was saying.

"Look, we've been through this. I'm not your man." Carson complained. "And behave, Bex."

Keep moving." Rodney pushed him towards the Chair.

"I'm a doctor. A medical doctor."

"There's nothing to be afraid of." Rodney said with ease, and Carson scoffed.

"You don't understand. I break things like this."

"This device has survived for millions of years intact. It will survive you. Now, sit down, close your eyes, and concentrate." Rodney said insistently and Carson sighed, frustrated, but gave up and sat down in the Chair and Bex jumped onto his lap. After barely a second he shrugged, clearly frustrated, and started to get up.

"Again, nothing." Rodney signalled for him to stay seated, exasperated.

"Okay, this time just try to imagine an image of where we are in the solar system." Carson looked sceptical, but Carson closed his eyes and concentrated.

"I think I feel something." Carson opened his eyes warily. "It could be lunch-related."

"Shut up. And concentrate." Rodney said, annoyed now and Carson grimaced, but complied and closed his eyes again in concentration. Suddenly the chair lit up and shoves backwards, and Carson opened his eyes, mouth agape in obvious surprise and Bex let out a similar sound of surprise at being suddenly dislodged from Carson's shoulder. In the outer chamber where Peter was working on the drone it suddenly activates, catching the scientist by surprise as it starts flying around the chamber, causing destruction as it goes and sending both Peter and Ziggy to the floor to avoid being hit. Rodney, Carson and their soul animals stare in shock and horror at it, people and animals diving out the way as moves wildly throughout the chamber.

"Watch out!" Someone yelled, and the drone finds the elevator shaft and flew up it, passing the elevator and bursting out to the surface.

"What did I do?" Carson spluttered. Inside the elevator, Elizabeth, Daniel, two other expedition members and their souls are heading to the surface when the drone rockets past, shaking the entire elevator. Elizabeth looked up in surprise, and yelled out as she kept looking up and Orion barked.

"Get us back down there!"

_antarctic skies..._

" _All inbound craft, we have a rogue drone that could seek a target on its own. Land immediately and shut down your engines. This is not a drill. I repeat-_ " Jaylah quickly turned off her game and tucked it into the door pocket just as the bright yellow drone flew into sight, and John cut off the man on the radio.

"It's too late. Hang on." John barely avoided the drone as it streaked around the helicopter twice, locking onto the helicopter as a target. "Nymeria! Scatter! Scatter!" Outside the ship the large Osprey let out a loud shriek and dove towards the ground, moving out of sight.

"Break right." Jack ordered, gripping Bart's vest to keep him in place, and John dodged the drone again by flying higher and to the left, not right.

"I said, right!"

"He said right!" Jaylah yelled at the same time, grasping the back of Ares' vest to stop him sliding off the bench.

"I'm getting to that, sir, ma'am." John snarked back.

_ancient outpost..._

The second the elevator hit the ground Daniel and Raven were running towards the chair room. Elizabeth and Orion stopped in the chamber, looking around at the devastation for a moment before running after Daniel. She ran up to Carson, who was still in the chair, her arms outstretched in bewilderment. The animals were all scattered, on edge from the panic most of the adults were feeling.

"I told you I was the wrong person." Carson said knowingly.

"It doesn't matter now. Just do something!" Rodney shouted frantically at the medical Doctor, who snarked right back.

"Like what?"

"Okay, Carson, concentrate on shutting that weapon down before it hurts someone." Elizabeth said soothingly, stopping Rodney from saying something he'd regret or Ada doing something sanctionable. He was rightfully worried, she knew that of course, it was his sister and her soul on that helicopter.

_antarctic skies..._

John looked through his windows for the drone, unable to locate it. It was hard to see anything in the white landscape, but Jaylah knew it was there. She didn't know how she knew, and she had a feeling the General wouldn't be able to explain it either. By the uneasy noises Bart and Ares were making, it seemed they knew as well.

"I can't see it." As if sensing the drone, both Jack and Jaylah spoke up.

"Pull up. Pull up!" They said sharply, and the helicopter barely missed a mountain ridge and dived down underneath the erratic path of the Ancient Drone. John saw Nymeria flying below, and was glad the drone seemed to be more interested in inanimate objects than the souls.

"What about now?" Jack asked, referring to landing the craft as the tech had mentioned earlier.

"Now's good." John agreed breathlessly. The Helicopter skimmed over the snowy surface, landing on the flat surface as the drone piled into the snow.

"Shut it down!" Jaylah ordered sharply, John complying and shutting down the instruments. They all sat in anxious silence, until John spoke up nervously.

"Sir, ma'am, what the hell was that?"

"Wait for it." Jack said, holding up his hand and they watch and wait, and then the drone burst out of the snowbank at an unbelievable speed, heading straight for the helicopter.

"Get out!" John shouted, the three officers scrambling out of the craft. John goes flat, and Jaylah is crouched beside him and Ares a few feet back as the drone suddenly powered down and slid to a stope mere inches from where Jack was crouched with Bart hidden in his jacket.

_ancient outpost..._

Carson opened his eyes with a sharp breath, the eyes of Rodney, Elizabeth and Peter, along with a few other worried observers on him.

"I think I did it."

_antarctic landscape..._

The three Officers warily stood up, a little shaken. Ares glared at his human.

"This is why i hate helicopters!" He grumbled. Jaylah giggled at him, rolling her eyes fondly.

"That was different." John said breathlessly, Jaylah agreeing with him. She's only been assigned to the Stargate Program a few weeks after Jack woke up from being frozen, when Elizabeth had asked him to help find a competent officer that could take over if Sumner couldn't lead the military.

"For me, not so much." Jack admitted in a resigned tone as he slumped into the co-pilots seat, and John exchanged a look with Jaylah over his shoulder.

"That's enough excitement for one day I think boys." Jaylah said pointedly.

"No argument from me." Jack nodded. John just nodded once.

"Don't make me get back in the death machine." Ares said immediately. Jaylah sighed.

"Ares, we've talked about this." She said, running her fingers through his long fur as he nuzzled her. "You can't run here, not alone."

"If you'd like, ma'am, Nymeria can watch him from the sky as he runs." John offered, the large Osprey resting on John's shoulder. "I'll be able to keep an eye on them, make sure nothing happens."

"Are you sure?" Jaylah asked, making sure the Major didn't mind. John turned his head to Nymeria.

"I can watch. Tracking practice." She agreed. John turned back to Jaylah, nodding.

"Nymeria misses tracking." John shrugged. "She'll keep Ares in the right direction."

"Alright." Jaylah nodded. She planted a firm kiss in the fur on his head. "Head straight to the outpost. I'll be waiting." Ares licked Jaylah's cheek before bounding off, the Osprey launching into flight from John's shoulder with a caw. "Let's go."  
  
  


_ancient outpost..._

Lieutenant Aiden Ford ran into the Control Chair Room, pressing a hand against his ear, his soul Kali bounding in behind him.

"Major Sheppard is reporting the drone appears to have been incapacitated. General O'Neill's helicopter is unharmed, and on its way again." Aiden reported. "Seven minutes out." Everyone let out audible sighs of relief, none more than Rodney who was thankful his sister was fine.

"Thank God." Elizabeth sighed, relieved.

"Holy crap." Carson uttered.

"According to Major Sheppard, McKay and Sheppard's souls are taking the scenic route, since McKay's soul doesn't like flying."

"Makes sense." Rodney nodded.

"It does?" Daniel asked, curious. He nodded.

"Ares hates flying." Rodney snorted. "It's pretty funny, honestly. He's fine in planes because he can't see the sky, but trying to get him in a helicopter is a fight."

"Huh." Daniel mused, shaking his head.


	5. Three

_**** _

_**** _

_**** _

_**season 1 episode 1 & 2 ; rising...** _   
_**part 3...** _

_main room of the outpost..._

John, Jack, Jaylah and their soul animals exit the elevator as Daniel and Raven hurried over to meet them, the excited archaeologist and his soul a welcome sight to Jack and Bart. Nymeria was perched on John's shoulder, her talons digging into his jacket looking around with unease, clearly not happy with being in an underground outpost.

"Jack!"

"Daniel. Warm welcome." Jack said dryly, referring to the drone. At their feet Raven and Bart touch noses, which immediately told Jaylah and John that Jack and Daniel are soulmates.

"It wasn't me. How did you manage to-"

"Keep my ass from getting blown out of the sky? The exceptional flying of Major John Sheppard. He likes it here." Jack praised, and Daniel looked a little bewildered.

"Exceptional? You like it here?" Daniel shook his head. "Lieutenant Colonel McKay, pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, Doctor Jackson." Jaylah offered welcome back, shaking his hand. "And this is Ares."

"Call me Daniel." He then nodded to his feet. "Raven."

"Jaylah." Jaylah smiled at Daniel, who returned the smile before Jack poked his chest, catching his attention.

"What say we cut to the part where you start talking real fast?"

"Ah. Weir's in here." Daniel motioned in one direction, leading them off.

"Hey." Jack said to John and Nymeria, who both looked at the General. "Don't touch anything."

"Yes, sir."

"McKay, with us." Jaylah nodded and the three left John and Nymeria, who looked around the busy chamber. The expedition scientists were either back at their experiments or still cleaning up the mess that had been left by the drone when it had gone rogue, and John decided to pick a direction and look around.  
  
  
  
  


_daniel's research lab..._

"I figure the Ancients packed up their entire city and left somewhere between five and ten million years ago." Daniel said after his explanation, and Jack looked at Daniel and decided to humour him. The soul animals were all dotted around the room, Jack and Daniel's underneath the table with their tails touching, while Rodney's panther was sprawled underneath a metal table and Ares was sitting under the table beside her, guarding Ada as he has done since they were kids.

"In their...flying city?"

"Yes." Daniel nodded, and Jaylah scoffed in disbelief and ignored the look Rodney and Elizabeth both sent their way. Jack shot Daniel an amused, sceptical look. "What?"

"Flying city?" Daniel rolled his eyes at his soulmates scepticism, long used to it.

"Well, keeping in mind this is the race that built the Stargates. They did everything big."

"So, why did they leave?" Jaylah asked, quickly cutting in before a pissing match started.

"Why'd they leave? Um, who knows? We know the Ancients on Earth were suffering from a plague." Daniel listed. "Um, maybe some of them were trying to start over, seeding life in a new galaxy. Maybe that's what Ancients do. The point is, we know where they went."

"Pegasus." Jack said.

"Yes, it's-it's the name of a dwarf galaxy in the local group."

"After all that time, is there any hope of actually meeting them?" Rodney asked Daniel.

"Uh, well, who knows, but isn't that reason enough to go?" The question was rhetorical, but Elizabeth still spoke up.

"Well, I've been choosing members for this expedition for months, Doctor. I'm not the one who needs convincing." Everyone looked at Jack, who looked taken back for a moment.

"Well, I'm convinced. Have fun." He gave a little smile, and Daniel sent Jack another look.

"Uh, it-it's a little more complicated than that."

"We need the "Zed-PM" to power the gate." Rodney said matter-of-factly.

"What?"

""Zee-PM". He's, uh, he's Canadian." Daniel said, as if that made total sense.

"I'm sorry." Jack said to Rodney half mockingly, barely flinching when Jaylah elbowed him.

"Oh, "Zero-Point Module," General. The Ancient power source you recovered from Praclarush Taonas and that's now powering the outpost's defences. I've since determined that it generates it's enormous power from vacuum energy derived from a self-contained region of subspace time." Rodney looked proud of his explanation, and Jaylah grinned at her brother, the two of them exchanging a sly high five under the desk. The two McKay souls made an almost victorious noise, which made Jaylah and Rodney smile fondly.

"That was a waste of a perfectly good explanation. The answer's no."  
  
  
  
  


_chair room..._

John's wandering took him near the chair control room, ignoring the looks as Nymeria pulled at his hair, making the already wild hair worse, long used to it, the two of them quietly conversing, when heard a thick Scottish accent bragging to a few other scientists about the drone incident.

"The second I shut my eyes, I could see." Carson bragged. "I just felt this power that I've never had before. I had it dancing all across the sky. It was magical, it really was. I mean, well, they are lucky. I don't know where it came from. I just tried to concentrate, and the drone shut itself down." John rounded the corner and saw the Scottish doctor.

"So you were the one." John accused, eyes narrowing, the two scientists walking off the second they heard him.

"Me?" Carson looked lost.

"You're the one who fired that thing at me." John said angrily, walking up to Carson who looked more than a little nervous and A small grey squirrel skittered up onto the Scottish man's shoulder.

"Look, we're doing research, working with technology that's light-years beyond us, and we make mistakes. I'm incredibly, incredibly sorry." He apologised.

"Well, next time, just be a little more careful, okay?"

"That's what I said." Carson said, relieved the Major wasn't mad at him anymore. His soul was more than a little terrifying.

"What the hell was that thing anyway?" John asked, referring to the drone.

"You mean the drone?" John nodded. "The weapon the Ancients built to defend this outpost."

"The who?"

"You do have security clearance to be here?" Carson checked, worried he'd said way too much.

"Yeah, yeah, General O'Neill just gave it to me." He motioned in the General direction Jack and Jaylah had disappeared to with Daniel, and Carson gulped in surprise.

"Then you don't even know about the Stargate."

"The what?" John was once again lost.  
  
  
  
  
  


_daniel's research lab..._

"Jack, you know that gating to another galaxy requires an enormous amount of power." Daniel said knowingly.

"Yes, I do. Find another way." Jack insisted.

"There's no other way." Daniel said calmly.

"Do you think there are more of these...zed things in Atlantis?" Jack asked Daniel.

"Yes, and who knows what else we could find. This isn't just some other civilization we're talking about. These are the gate builders."

"The potential wealth of knowledge and technology; it outweighs anything we've come across since we stepped through the Stargate." Elizabeth reasoned, and Jack knew she was right.

"Well, with the amount of power you'll need to make this trek, odds are it'll be one-way." Jack said.

"Yes, we know. But the benefit to humanity is far greater than the risk, General. And it is a risk that every one of my expedition members is willing to take." Elizabeth reminded the General, who considered this.  
  
  
  
  


_chair room..._

"We think the gene was used as a sort of genetic key, if you will, so that only their kind could operate certain dangerous or powerful technologies." Carson explained to John.

"So some people have the same genes as these Ancients?" John asked for clarification.

"The specific gene is very rare, but on the whole, they look very much like we do. In fact, they were first. We're the second evolution of this form, the Ancients having explored this galaxy for millions of years before-" John moved to sit in the chair and Carson tried to stop him. "Major, please don't." Nymeria moved from John's shoulder to the back of the Control Chair.

"Come on, what are the odds of me having the same genes as these guys?" John asked, sitting down and as soon as he does the chair lights up and shoves backwards. John froze out of nervousness and the loud noise of fright Nymeria let out as she was displaced, and Carson stared in shock.

"Quite slim, actually. Doctor Weir!" Carson held a hand out to John. "Don't move." Carson ran out, returning a moment later with everyone from Daniel's research room.

"Who is this?" Elizabeth asked Jack and Jaylah, who walk up to the Major.

"I said don't touch anything." Jack said, exasperated.

"I just sat down." John protested.

"Major, think about where we are in the solar system." Both Rodney and Jaylah asked John, and a moment later a three dimensional holographic representation of the solar system appeared in the air over their heads. Rodney looked surprised, Elizabeth looked excited and Jaylah looked shocked. The chair had reacted like this for her, but even she didn't have such a natural ease about using it.

"Did I do that?" John asked in surprise, staring up at the hologram and Jaylah couldn't hide the grin that spread across her face.  
  
  
  


_main area of the outpost..._

"We could be on our way to discovering an entirely new Ancient civilization. The best case scenario, we meet actual Ancients who are willing to help us, but if we don't..." Jack becomes particularly distracted as they pass the stasis chamber he'd been trapped in for several months even as Elizabeth kept talking. "General, we need them."

"Sorry, Doc, I need Daniel and Raven here."

"I'm talking about Major Sheppard and Nymeria." Elizabeth corrected. She knew Daniel couldn't go anyway, not unless Jack was going, and he wasn't allowed to unless he retired which wasn't going to happen anytime soon if the Joint Chief's had their way.

"Oh. Don't you have a dozen or so people already who can use the Ancient technology?" Jack asked.

"Yes, with concentration and training, they can make it work, but John Sheppard, he does it naturally."

"You know I've checked into his record." He mentioned casually as they stopped by the elevator.

"I know about the whole supposed black mark and sanction in Afghanistan. They were trying to save the lives of three servicemen and their souls." She reasoned.

"Disobeying a direct order in the process." Jack tried but Elizabeth lifted a brow ironically.

"I have read your own file, General. Please."

"Right." Jack sighed. "Okay, it's your expedition. You want them, you ask them."

"Uh, that's the thing. I have." Elizabeth admitted, stopping the General in his tracks.

"Really?" Jack asked in surprise.  
  
  
  
  


_outside the outpost..._

John is preparing his helicopter for flight, and Jack is in the seat beside him again. This time Jaylah and Ares are not in the helicopter, since Rodney needed her to power up the chair so he could run diagnostics. She'd pitched a fit in a way Jack had mused was exactly the same as a Rodney McKay rant, but she'd stayed anyway and had retrieved her PSP from John's helicopter before heading to sit in the chair for who knows how long. Jack figured it was just a way to make her brother annoyed, because she sent a wink his way when Rodney turned his back. Nymeria was perched on a propeller, waiting for the helicopter to start up before she headed back for the base.

"This isn't a long trip, so I'll be as succinct as possible." Jack said and he and Bart glared at John for several moments.

"Well, that's pretty succinct." John agreed.

"Thank you." Jack smiled.

"I told Doctor Weir that, you know, I'd think about it."

"And? So? Well? What?"

"With all due respect, sir, we were just attacked by an alien missile. Then I found out I have some mutant gene. Then there's this "Stargate thing" and these expeditions to other galaxies." John was more than a little overwhelmed.

"You know, this isn't about you, Sheppard. It's a lot bigger than that." Jack said but John stared at the General.

"Right now, at this very second, whether I decide to go on this mission or not seems to be about me." Jack silently agreed as he started up the rotors and fixed his helmet.

"Let me ask you something." Jack said, only to realise John can't hear him anymore, snagged his own headset, and spoke into it. "Why'd you become a pilot?"

"I think people who don't want to fly are crazy." John replied easily. "And Ny said flying was the best feeling in the world. I wanted to know if it was true." Right, Jack remembered John telling them that on the flight over.

"And I think people who don't want to go through the Stargate are equally as whacked." Jack exclaimed. "Now, if you can't give me a yes by the time we reach McMurdo, I don't even want ya." John stared at Jack in shock, and immediately knew the General was dead serious. If only he knew what he was getting himself into. Nodding to Nymeria, they took off back to McMurdo.


	6. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> soulmate meeting...

**_season 1 episode 1 &2 ; rising..._ **   
**_part 4..._ **   
**_interlude..._ **

_stargate command infirmary..._

"How's it going, Carson?" Jaylah asked as she entered the SGC Infirmary. She hit the edge of a crate with the Atlantis designation on it and frowned, then turned towards the two Marines that were on duty with a sharp glare. She was already in a pretty crappy mood that afternoon, since dealing with Sumner always had her pissed off. "What in the bloody hell made you two knuckleheads think that this is a good place to leave a crate? How many medical emergencies happen on a daily basis? Bloody animals. Move it along the wall, you morons. Thank you." The two marines, suitably chastised, quickly move the crate to the far wall by the supply room. Carson chuckled at Jaylah, amused by the rough attitudes of the McKay siblings more than anything else. "Uh, whoops?"

"Dinnae worry about it, Lass." He assured her. "It's goin' alright. But if you could please remind General O'Neill and Colonel Sumner that this is a long-term mission and we need more than a month of medical supplies baring an emergency."

"You got it mate." Jaylah agreed with an easy going smile towards her friend. When Evan's team arrived in the infirmary via the door on the other side of the infirmary Jaylah missed the tingle that passed over the soul mark on her ribs, busy making notes for the Expedition Quartermaster Sergeant Stackhouse. He was smart, efficient and more reliable than a lot of other Quartermasters that Jaylah had worked with. She approved of his lists, his order of doing things.

Evan on the other hand did notice the tingle, but he figured it was just a twinge from an injury he'd gotten off-world. Sighing, Evan sat down on the bed he was directed to and stripped off his tac vest and jacket and draping them over the end of the bed, letting Wendy curl up on his lap while a nurse took a blood sample and checked the back of his head.

"There's no cuts or cracks or fractures." The nurse deduced. "You've got a mild concussion though."

"Shit." Evan groaned.

"Ah, do not even try any of your games, Major Lorne." Doctor Lindsay Biro said firmly. She was one of the Expeditions new Doctors doing the mandatory rotation through the SGC Infirmary for all new medical recruits.

"Come on, Doc." Lorne protested, running his fingers through Wendy's dark fur as she dozed lightly from her sprawl over his thighs. "It's just a bump on the head."

"Major, you were caught in a land side." Captain Charlie Scott said flatly from a bed a few behind him, Tom the Rattle Snake wrapped around his neck. Lorne turned and glared at the Captain while Colonel John Winchester, Jara the Scorpion and Lieutenant Hanna Housten, Layla the Polar Bear sniggered, used to Lorne's antics. He'd not been particularly fond of hospitals since he'd gone in for a routine procedure when he was 12 and ended up almost dying from a hospital born infection. Lorne had made his team aware of this fact, but Biro didn't know this. "You and Wendy fell fifty feet, Major!"

"I've fallen farther before! And i walked the entire way back to the gate. I am fine!" Evan reminded his team, pointing a finger at them. Jaylah barely held back her snort of laughter at the glare but sobered when she noticed Ares uneasy movement. Before she could say anything Wendy leapt down from the bed, and everybody froze when Ares let out a low growl.

Everybody, Evan and Jaylah especially, tensed. Souls tended to know if you're soulmate was close by before you do, yet every soulmate meeting was different. Ares kept his golden eyes locked firmly on Wendy, stopping in front of her and poking her flank with his nose. Ares sniffed and the cub lifted herself onto her hind legs, leaning her front paws onto his neck and leaning in. Wendy hummed happily, and Ares craned his head enough so he could lick at her arm before yelping happily. Jaylah tore her sight away from them, and made eye contact with Evan. She was torn, duty and her soulmate, but ultimately she didn't get a chance to move before Biro was talking.

"Major, you have a concussion." Biro stated firmly. "Now, soulmate meeting or not, you are not leaving this infirmary until i say so."

"Fine, fine." Evan agreed amicably, distractedly, arms crossed over his chest. Biro nodded, satisfied, and left. Jaylah tore her eyes away from Evan and back to her clipboard, which was still a little over halfway unchecked. Blinking several times, Jaylah cursed before crossing the room. She stopped at the end of the bed Lorne was seated on, and then hesitated. Thankfully Evan seemed as hesitant as she did.

"Hi." She blurted.

"Hi." Evan returned with a smile.

"I uh, i'm Jaylah. McKay." She introduced herself, gripping her clipboard a little tighter. "And that's Ares." She nodded in the direction of the two souls that were curled up together on the floor.

"Evan Lorne. And that's Wendy." He replied.

"So i still have inventory to do and then i've got a meeting with General O'Neill." Jaylah explained. Evan nodded in understanding and briefly Jaylah thought she was lucky her soulmate was in the know and that he understood the dedication to duty. She remembered when one of her squadron met their soulmate, and the man had demanded she leave the service and become a stay at home mother. The whole situation had been badly handled, but it always left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Finish up." Evan told her. "Biro's not letting me out of here for at least an hour." He looked disgruntled and it made Jaylah smile.

"I'll be quick." Jaylah promised. With a quick smile she was sure was just bordering on lackadaisical even though it wasn't the way she intended it to, she headed back to Carson and the medical supplies.

"Major Lorne. Evan." John said. Evan tore his eyes away from Jaylah towards his commanding officer who was sitting on the bed behind his, a little bit surprised by his use of his first name. "Congratulations."

"Thank you, sir."

"This changes things, you know." Hanna pointed out, un-braiding her long blonde hair.

"Well obviously." Evan said dryly.

"I mean that's Lieutenant Colonel McKay, the XO of the Atlantis Expedition, Major. And she's Doctor Rodney McKay's sister." Hanna rolled her eyes at Evan, but he had already turned his focus back towards his first soulmate. She had her deep red hair that oddly reminded him of fire from all of the shades pulled back into two tight french braids that met at the base of her skull and were tied together to keep them back and came down about halfway down her back. Her uniform was different from Evan's, so he figured they must have issued the Expedition their own uniforms. Grey trousers, black combat boots, a black t-shirt, a dark grey jacket unzipped. The arm of her jacket that he could see had the Atlantis Mission patch they'd come up with, sitting in the same place where Evan's SG-12 patch sat. Unsure of how he missed that, he dismissed it as Hanna clapped his shoulder, grinning widely at her friend and teammate.

"You do whatever you have to do, Major. You have our full support." Concurrent agreements rang out from the team.

"Thanks guys."  
  
  
  


Jaylah was nothing if not efficient in her job, especially when properly motivated, and despite knowing her soulmate was waiting for her she double checked the supplies, made notes of what needed stocked, strongly reminded Carson about allergies - if they had members of the mission on missions and they had allergies? no good. He was always amenable and understanding, and Jaylah added an extra 2 dozen boxes of anti-histamines, a dozen more epi-pens, and various other counter offer drugs in case somebody was allergic to something to the manifest. Mindlessly Jaylah patted her pocket to check her own epi-pen was in her pocket, nodding to herself when it was, and made some notes on her checklist. She checked Carson's stock of glucose tablets, since there were 4 members with hypoglycaemia including her brother, and checked they had insulin in the off chance someone was diagnosed with diabetes and needed it, and made sure there was at least a years worth of birth control for every woman on the base, especially since all SGC ladies had some form of it. Jaylah herself had the implant, but she knew others like Biro and Miko were on the pill.

30 minutes later she ticked off the final box on the checklist and made her way back over to her soulmate. He was alone now; his team having been dismissed for a shower before their briefing which would take place after Jaylah's meeting with General O'Neill. Ares and Wendy had moved onto the bed Evan was on, her Timber Wolf dozing with his head resting on Evan's leg and Wendy curled around Evan's arm. The Major was writing up his incident and mission reports on the back of a random sheet of paper since there wasn't much else to do in the infirmary and was holding an ice pack against the back of his head, but he stopped when Jaylah joined him, sitting on the end of the bed and folding one knee under her, her other foot planted on the floor.

"Sorry." Jaylah attempted, but Evan was having none of it.

"Don't apologise for doing your job, Jaylah." He said, frowning. "You're preparing for an incredibly dangerous mission; nothing can get in the way of that."

"Is it bad that i'm so relieved you said that?" Jaylah asked, sighing in relief.

"No." He took her hand in his, both of them feeling that warm and tingly feeling between them that was lamented as a first soulmate touch. There was a shift, and a small thrum of warmth spread through her body as the first bond hummed to life between them. An understand had been reached. "I've always known the kind of person i want to be and i know for a fact i never want to be the kind of partner that takes away choice. We're both in the military, we both have duty and responsibility to our countries. There's a lot to sort out. For one, you're the XO for the Atlantis Mission Military Contingent." Jaylah winced.

"Right." Jaylah nodded. She checked her watch, swearing when she noticed the time. "Crap, General O'Neill is expecting me in 5 minutes. Biro!" Jaylah glanced around until the aforementioned doctor appeared.

"Colonel, everything alright?"

"I'm fine." Jaylah assured the woman before she could go off on a tangent. She could give Rodney a run for his money on nervous rambling. "Is Evan clear to leave? I have a meeting with the General and i'm not exactly thrilled with being too far away, you know."

"Are you experiencing any pain, headaches, nausea, dizziness?" Biro asked when she turned to Evan.

"No." He said. "And i promise that if i do, I'll come straight back here." Biro stared at him assessingly, but reluctantly nodding.

"Alright. But i or one of the nurses will be checking in in a few hours." Biro warned. Evan practically leaped to his feet, helping Wendy grip onto the straps on the shoulder of his jacket that he'd put back on at some point, so she didn't fall. Ares hopped off the bed and circled her feet until she scratched behind his ear.

"Thanks Doc." Jaylah gave her a bright grin, picked up her discarded clipboard and turned back to her soulmate, who was watching her.

"What?"

"Nothing." Evan said. "Nothing at all."  
  
  


Their meeting with General O'Neill went about as well as they had expected. Evan was offered a place on the Expedition, and Jaylah was offered a position on SG-12, as per SGC regulations. Ultimately Evan's curiosity for exploration in another galaxy won out and he accepted the position on the Expedition, and took on the position of logistics officer, filling the last needed officer position in the military contingent. They'd been offered the 2-weeks leave that was offered after a soulmate meeting, but since there was far too much to do and not a lot of time do it they decided to wait until the majority of the preparation for the Expedition had been done to visit Evan's family in San Francisco. They filed all of the necessary reports with HR, though they decided to wait on deciding about anything else until they met their third. Jaylah introduced Evan to Jeannie over the phone, since unfortunately there wasn't any way for them to get up to Canada before the Expedition launched, and he met Rodney when they were needed at the Antarctica base so Rodney could test the strength of their gene again.  
  
  
  


_on base accommodation..._

They didn't get a moment alone until hours after both of their shifts ended. Evan had his post-mission de-brief, which took a bit longer than usual since Evan had gotten caught in a landslide. But finally they finished up and managed to escape the mountain. Since Jaylah had only been in the city a few days she'd been crashing in Rodney's spare room, so they headed back to his place.

"It's not a very large place." Evan admitted as they walked. He only lived a 10-minute walk from the mountain in the base accommodation, since he often crashed in the barracks on base if he had to be off-world early or got back from a mission late. "I've spent more time off world this past year than here, so i didn't see the need in spending £1200 a month on a place i was in maybe twice a month." He explained to her, Jaylah nodded her understanding. She'd had a few assignments where it had become pointless paying for a flat, either due to price or due to the fact she was rarely there.

"It's probably not as bad as the place I bunked in Afghanistan. 12 guys and 2 women, crammed into a 12 by 15 room." Evan grimaced, to which Jaylah laughed at his expression. "I've been staying with my brother since i got assigned to the SGC, only a cat as company since he's been stationed in Antarctica." When they arrived to the building Evan led her inside, locking the door behind them. Ares immediately started out on his search of the place, Wendy hopping up onto the sofa and sprawling. Evan dropped his keys on the table by the door, stepping past Jaylah into the kitchen. Jaylah looked at the walls, which were filled with pictures. Some of them were of Evan's siblings, some of them were of him. There was a few that were obviously taken off world, but the gate wasn't in them, so it just looked like a group of guys going camping.

"Drink?" Evan asked, leaning against the door frame, holding out a beer.

"No thank you." Jaylah shook her head. "I don't drink."

"How come?" Evan asked, drinking it himself.

"My mother was a drunk." Jaylah admitted ruefully. "She and my father spent the first 8 years of my life screaming at each other, at me, at my brother. After our father died she got worse. As I got older I sort of associated drinking with bad relationships. Which I know isn't true, but I can't bring myself to drink."

"I get it." Evan assured her, nodding his understanding. "My dad died when I was a kid. He was hit by a drunk driver on the way home from the hospital with my mother and youngest sister."

"Ah." Jaylah said awkwardly. Ares hopped up onto the couch beside Wendy. "So, test?"

"Right." Evan put his drink down on the counter.

"Something you should know before we do this." Jaylah said, Evan freezing. "So I have two marks." He relaxed, chuckling as he stopped in front of her.

"I thought you were going to say something bad." Evan said. "I have two marks as well." Jaylah relaxed. Jaylah removed her jacket, putting it on the side of the couch before lifting her shirt up to show his mark. It sat to the left of her ribs, curved around her side. Evan studied the symbol, perplexed. "Is that Aztec?"

"Yep." Jaylah nodded. "Rodney said it's the Aztec symbol for Power, strength and courage." She smiled at him. She hadn't been sure which of the two marks were his until they'd settled their first level bond, because there had been a low burn on the mark and his name had appeared along the edge of the symbol.

"May i?" He asked, hand hovering over her mark. She nodded, and he placed his hand over ribs before placing splaying his hand flat, and Jaylah grabbed his arms with a sharp gasp. The sensations that flew through her were unlike anything she had ever felt, like every good thing she had ever wanted all at once surging through her body until it left her gasping and shuddering, their foreheads pressed tightly together. She let out a slightly hysterical laugh as it abated. "Good?"

"Oh, you have no idea." She agreed, breathless. "Can I?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah." Reluctantly Evan stepped away from Jaylah before removing his jacket and his t-shirt. Her eyes widened at the tribal tattoo's that arch over his right shoulder. They go about halfway down his chest, stopping below his peck and arching up over his shoulder and around his upper arm. But never where they could be seen by a superior officer or peek out of any uniform including training clothes - unless he wore a tank top. His soul mark was on his left bicep, covered by a patch that was required for all off world members to wear. He quickly peeled it off, and Jaylah's heart stopped.

"Is that a fire Phoenix?" She gasped, awe on her face and Evan nodded. She didn't waste any time, brushing her fingers over the mark before covering it like he'd done with her. His reaction is about the same as hers, with happiness and lust and contentment that gave way to the thrum of the bond between them.

"Oh my." Evan gasped out, breathless. Instead of saying anything Jaylah surged forward, pressing their lips together. The kiss was returned eagerly, his hand curling around her neck and the other pressing against her soul mark. With a shudder Jaylah tightened her hold against his arm. "Bedroom?"

"Bedroom." Jaylah agreed frantically, laughing.

The Atlantis Expedition was scheduled to leave at the end of May. It was mid-April when Evan and Jaylah completed their soulmate bond, a month after they first met. Soon, the time for the Expedition to launch came, and everything changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sg-11  
> jeffrey dean morgan as colonel john winchester and jara - scorpion  
> anson mount as captain charlie scott and tom - rattle snake  
> sarah michelle geller as lieutenant hanna housten and layla - polar bear (size changing ability)


	7. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> embarkation...

**__ **

**__ ** ****

**__ **

**__ **

**__ **

**__ **

**_season 1 episode 1 &2 ; rising..._ **   
_**part 5..** _   
_**two months later...** _

_washington dc..._

Inside the home of Doctor Simon Wallace, the man and his soul - a black german sheppard he named Andy - sit on his sofa as a video that Elizabeth made starts playing.

" _Simon, if you're watching this, it means the President has been kind enough to grant you and Andy security clearance. We're not going on a diplomatic mission to another country. We're going to another planet in another galaxy by means of a device called a Stargate. Millions of years ago, there was a race of beings we call the Ancients. They created a network of these Stargate's throughout our galaxy in order to travel freely among their worlds. We don't know why, but they left for another galaxy somewhere between five and ten million years ago, taking their entire city along with them. That city was called Atlantis. I have been assembling an expedition team in order to try to find Atlantis and hopefully, the Ancients who left Earth all those years ago._ "

The expedition members are preparing to leave, saying goodbye to their loved ones and heading for Colorado. Aiden and his soul Kali (a spider monkey) kissed his grandparent's goodbye before getting into a taxi. Carson and Bex sit down to a home-cooked meal in his mother's kitchen, his mother and her soul doting on him. Rodney and Jaylah leave their cat Einstein with a neighbour, complete with a supply of food while their souls sit in the hall behind them, waiting patiently with Ada sprawled across Ares' back. John is sitting on a hillside in a park near a coastline, flipping a coin indecisively while Nymeria sat on his shoulder, messing his hair about as a show of support. Evan is hugging his mother and sister goodbye, accepting the bag of baked goods from her despite knowing it wouldn't leave the SGC, Wendy seated at his feet in a slightly larger form pawing at his sisters soul in goodbye.

" _I want to do this, Simon with all my heart. You know me and Orion well enough to know that we could never turn down an opportunity like this, but I wanted the chance to tell you-_ " Simon paused the video and moved over to the phone and dials a familiar number.

" _The cellular customer you are trying to reach is currently outside the coverage area._ " Simon ended the call and looked back at the TV.

"No kidding."

_stargate command..._

On level 28 of Stargate Command, the corridors are crowded with expedition members and their souls move equipment around, preparing for departure.

"I narrowed it down to about three things, but after a week, it just kind of fell into place..." A Canadian expedition member said, a sheep resting beside his feet, and a few meters down the halls Peter and Ziggy are speaking Spanish with another member and her brown goat and pat him on the back. In the area just outside the gate room, Aiden is trying to speak to two expedition members who are talking in a language Aiden doesn't understand.

"I don't under—does anyone else here speak whatever language these guys are speaking?" Aiden called, frustrated.   
  
  
  
  


_the gateroom..._

Inside the gateroom, Carson is arguing with Sergeant Eugene Bates. Bates' soul is an angry looking white tiger, a scar on her face that makes her look fierce, and her name was Callie.

"Listen, I just need a couple of minutes to finish my work, and you're not helping by standing there." Colonel Marshall Sumner and his Soul Tony - a reddish-brown Mammal - are standing on the ramp, overseeing the progress. Jaylah and Sumner are arguing.

"You can't just override my orders like that. I gave them for a reason. Listen you don't have to like me, Colonel, but you have to respect my rank and role with this expedition." Jaylah glowered at Sumner. She'd been dealing with his backdated views that women shouldn't have command roles since Jack had introduced them and was getting sick of it. It was clear this was the kind of man that believed the woman should stay home and be a housewife whilst the men went out to fight in wars. Evan didn't even like the man, which was saying a lot since Evan tended to like everyone.

"I did not want you as my XO." Sumner shot back.

"What, because I'm a woman?" Sumner shook his head and walked past the techs working on the MALP.

"This has nothing to do with you being a woman, Lieutenant Colonel McKay." Sumner replied blankly. "I don't know you. I have no reason to trust you other than General O'Neill's word. For me, that's just not enough." Sumner turned to the techs. "You've got five minutes to get it going, or I'm leaving it. Everything in here has been double-checked and triple-checked and cleared for take-off. Leave it alone." Sumner said to Carson, who gave Sumner a look that made Jaylah grin for a brief moment.

"Look, Colonel, I don't answer to you."

"He said the same to me, sir." Bates said to Sumner.

"That's what your sidearm's for." Sumner said to Bates, who smirked.

"No shooting civilians." Jaylah growled, Ares echoing that, glaring at Bates and Callie who nodded sharply. It was more than obvious that Bates and his soul respected her just as much as him. Sumner and Tony clearly didn't like that but walked off with only a dark look being sent her way.

"Doc, finish up quickly." Jaylah told Carson and his soul, who nodded. "We've checked this twice now."

"Aye lassie."  
  
  
  


_control room..._

In the control room above the gate room, Elizabeth is standing among the expedition members working with SGC personnel to prepare for departure, and Daniel entered speaking animatedly with an expedition member.

"So the eight-chevron address is what tells our gate to look for a point in space outside of our galaxy, so we won't know until it locks." He explained.

"Okay." She replied as Jack and Bart entered the stairwell with a jaunty step.

"Are we there yet?"

"We're just waiting on Doctor McKay." Elizabeth told him as Jaylah and Ares entered the control room, looking seriously pissed off.

"Whoever thought picking Sumner to lead the military contingent was stupid and deserves to be smacked." She grumbled, coming to stand beside Jack and Bart. Ares sat back on his haunches, looking all the professional Soul that he is. "Repeatedly."

"I did." He looked at her with a raised brow, but she kept looking down at the gate room.

"I said what I said." Elizabeth had to hide a grin at her XO.  
  
  
  


_power room..._

Inside the SGC power room, Rodney, Ada and Sergeant Siler, Pablo - an arctic penguin - are hooking up a generator device that will integrate the ZPM power grid. Rodney held the ZPM, smiling. Evan and Wendy were standing watching, radio in hand ready to inform the control room of the ZPM's connectivity.

"It should work now. I've got it." Siler told Rodney.

"Okay, Sergeant, give it a try. The ZPM should light up when it senses a conductive connection to the gate." Rodney explained, plugging in the ZPM. Siler pulled a lever on the power grid controls, and the ZPM lights up.

"Oh, yeah." Rodney said, pleased.

"Lorne to control room. ZPM's connected." Evan informed them.

" _Copy that Lorne._ " Walter returned.  
  
  
  


_gateroom..._

Back in the gate room, John entered with all his gear on, watching the expedition members bustling about. Nymeria was back on his shoulder, her feet latched onto his strap, wearing her vest. The civilians were getting help from the military in fitting the soul-issued armour on, since most of them had never needed it before.

"Colonel." John greeted Sumner casually who sent him a cold look. John looked away, while Nymeria gave Sumner a homicidal look, disappointed as Elizabeth and Orion came into the gate room, climbing up onto the ramp and getting everyone's attention.

"Can I have everyone's attention, please?" Elizabeth asked, smiling as the crowd silenced. "All right, here we go. We're about to try to make a connection. We have been unable to predict exactly how much power this is going to take, and we may only get the one chance at this. So, if we're able to achieve a stable wormhole, we're not going to risk shutting the 'gate down. We'll send in the MALP robot probe, check for viability, and go. Everything in one shot. Now, every one of you volunteered for this mission, and you represent over a dozen countries. You are the world's best and brightest. And in light of the adventure we are about to embark on, you're also the bravest. I hope we all return one day having discovered a whole new realm for humanity to explore. But as all of you know, we may never be able to return home. I'd like to offer you all one last chance to withdraw your participation." Not a single voice is raised, nor is a single animalistic noise made, and Elizabeth can't help but grin. "Begin the dialling sequence." She nodded to Walter, stepping off the ramp and heading back to the Control Room.

"Let me make myself clear, Major. You are not here by my choice." Sumner said, low in John's ear. John raised an eyebrow, turning to face the Colonel who was far too close to his soul.

"I'm sure you'll warm up to me once you get to know me, sir." John assured.

"As long as you remember who's giving the orders." Sumner said pointedly, and John decided to be snarky as he smirked.

"That would be Doctor Weir, right?" Sumner just glared at him, and John rolled his eyes with a grin.  
  
  
  
  
  


_control room..._

Elizabeth and Orion re-joined Jack, Daniel and Jaylah and their souls in the Control Room, looking out at the gate.

" _Chevron Three encoded. Chevron Four encoded_."

"Nice." Jack said casually, Elizabeth smiling.

"Thank you."

" _Chevron Five encoded_." Rodney and Ada rushed in to join them, standing up beside Jaylah who gives him a gentle nudge of encouragement that he quickly returned. Ada came right up beside Ares, nudging the wolf encouragingly. Evan and Wendy came in behind them at a more sedate pace, Wendy joining Area and Ada in her small bear cub form while Evan stood on Jaylah's other side, and Jaylah took his hand with a small smile.

" _Chevron Six encoded_."

"This is it." Elizabeth said nervously, but she also sounded rather excited which was an appropriate response.

"Yeah." Jaylah and Rodney said quietly.

"Seriously, Doctor, calm down. You're embarrassing me." Elizabeth teased Rodney, who sent her a dry smile while Jaylah snorted. The two McKay souls were playfully messing about, and neither sibling had the heart to make them stop.

"I've never been so excited in my entire life." Rodney said drily.

"Oh yeah, sounds it." Evan said sarcastically. Jaylah snorted.

" _Chevron Eight is locked._ " The Stargate activated, everyone applauding. In the control room everyone is grinning with relief and happiness. Jack looked more than pleased, as does Elizabeth who turned to Walter with a nod.

"Send the MALP." Walter nodded and sent the command code on his computer, and the MALP drives up the ramp and through the Stargate. A few moments later the monitors show a dark image that the MALP was sending back.

"We have MALP telemetry." Walter informed them.

"What is it we're looking at?" Elizabeth asked, Rodney moving around to join Walter at the Controls. Ares, Ada and Wendy perked up, noticing the tension. Bart and Raven are looking curiously up at the screen.

"Switching to zero locks." Walter informed them, and the image shifted to show what looks like a large room.

"The radar indicates...a large room?" Rodney sounded surprised.

"Structurally intact?" Daniel asked incredulously.

"Environmental sensors say there's oxygen, no measurable toxins. We have viable life support." Jaylah was leaning over Walter's other shoulder, reading the data off the screen.

"It looks like we're not getting out of this." Rodney smiled, turning and heading towards the gate room, Jaylah and Evan followed after him, their three souls lopping after them excitedly. Elizabeth smiled and turned to Jack, who gave a smile back.

"Doctor Weir, Orion, you have a go." Jack gave the go ahead.

"Thank you...sir's."  
  
  
  


_gateroom..._

Sumner, Tony and an initial team head up the ramp with their souls at their feet. As agreed upon before, Jaylah, Ares, Evan and Wendy were going to head up the back of the expedition, making sure nobody got left behind and all the supplies made it through. They'd done a dozen or so dry runs to the alpha site, so Jaylah and Evan hoped this went smoothly.

Jaylah grabbed the back of Sergeant Robert 'Stacks' Stackhouse and Sergeant Jamie Markham's vests, stopping them and their souls - a black Hyena named Hypnos and a striped Bengal Tiger named Tyra - from heading up the ramp with Sumner's team.

"You're with me, Marines." She ordered sharply, and the men nodded.

"Yes ma'am." Stackhouse replied. During the training for the mission, mostly held by Jaylah, Aiden, Evan and their souls because Sumner and Tony were doing something else (they hadn't asked and he hadn't said) and she'd built up a rapport with him and the other Marines, since Robert was to be the Quartermaster, and she had done so successfully. With only minute experience from her last command, she knew it was important to understand the chain of command, and despite Evan being of a lower rank than her, they knew how to keep their work professional. Being soulmates gave Evan a little bit more responsibility since Jaylah was a rank above him, but they were keeping their personal and professional lives separate as best they could. Thankfully she'd managed to build up enough so that she knew if anything happened to Sumner, she would be respected, even though she didn't really want that responsibility.

"Reid! Taylors! Markham! Make sure no equipment is left behind." She ordered the three Marines and their souls, who nodded smartly. "Westley, Holmes, Barnett, help with the bigger equipment, don't let anyone get hurt."

"Yes ma'am." Westley said, the three Marines splitting off and weaving through the crowd. Jaylah looked up to the ramp, where Sumner and Tony were watching and she nodded, the older man nodding back much to her surprise.

"That man is such an ass." Wendy grumbled. Evan and Jaylah could hear her, and they snorted but silently agreed.

"Let's go, people. We don't know how much power we've got. Security teams One and Two, you're up first. All other personnel will follow on our signal. Once on the other side, keep moving, clear the debarkation area. On my lead..." Sumner was cut off when Elizabeth and Orion entered, stopping him at the event horizon.

"Hold on, Colonel!" Elizabeth called, grabbing her pack and pulling it on, staring at Sumner. "We go through together."

"Fair enough." Sumner assented before readying his weapon and leading his team through. Orion was excited, unable to sit still and Weir paused for a moment and looked back at Jack and Daniel in the Gate Room. She nodded a farewell, then stepped through the Stargate.

_control room..._

Up in the control room Daniel and Raven tried one more time to get Jack and Bart to agree to letting him go, but the older man wasn't having any of it.

"Jack, it-it's not too late for us-"

"No."

"I can just grab our-"

"No." Jack said again, and Daniel sighed.

" _...kit._ " Sumner's voice came over the radio just then.

" _All clear. It looks good._ "

"Expedition team...move out." Jack ordered into the intercom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> scott eastwood as sergeant robert stackhouse and hypnos - hyena + michael k williams as sergeant jamie markham and tyre - bengal tiger


	8. Six

_**** _ ****

_**** _

_**Season 1 Episode 1 & 2: Rising** _   
_**part 6...** _

_gate room..._

At the bottom of the ramp Jaylah and Evan were making sure every Expedition member had something to carry through, Stackhouse was double checking the larger pallets of supplies and assigning marines to carry. At the top of the ramp John and Aiden were standing at the gate, John eyeing the event horizon. He'd been a late edition to the Expedition and had been in Antarctica right up until the week before, so he hadn't been on any of the dry runs through the gate. Rodney was behind the two officers, conversing with Ada quietly. Nymeria tugged John's hair affectionately, and Kali crawled up from Aiden's shoulder to the back of his head.

"What's it feel like?" John asked curiously, and Aiden took stock of the Major and his soul before saying in a serious voice.

"Hurts like hell, sir." John grimaced and Nymeria fluttered her wings, readying himself when suddenly Aiden grinned brightly and jumped backwards into the event horizon.

"Whoo-hoo!" John paused, wincing, and stepped through the gate with his eyes closed. Jaylah and Ares watched as the Major stepped through the Stargate and rolled her eyes before moving to help other expedition members with their stuff. Stackhouse and Hypnos were standing on the opposite side of the room, helping, and Jaylah nodded when he caught her eye. She returned it promptly.

"Let's get a move on people!" Jaylah ordered. "Like the Colonel said we don't know how much power we have and we don't want anyone to be left behind!"

_atlantis gateroom..._

John and Nymeria came out the wormhole inside the City of the Ancients, looking back at the Gate in evident shock. The soul gave a shocked shudder, but both quickly shook their surprise off, he aims his weapon in front of him and looked around the unfamiliar room.

"Take flight, Nymeria." John said lowly. "Watch for threats."

"Yes Johnny." Nymeria's voice floated through his thoughts, the Osprey taking flight from his shoulder.

"Teams One and Two, secure the immediate area." Sumner ordered.  
  


_stargate command gateroom..._

"Holmes, Westley, don't let that equipment fall!" Jaylah called up, the two Marines and their souls standing on either side of the ramp, occasionally stopping people to quickly re-secure the equipment before continuing on. Westley's soul was a boar and was using its vast body mass to hold up the equipment that almost fell.

"Yes ma'am." The two men said loud enough that she could hear them.

"Taylors, watch their backs." Jaylah motioned to the group of smaller scientists, and he nodded and moved to join the group, offering assistance with the heavier of equipment. They looked grateful, and Jaylah scanned for Reid and his soul and saw him helping Miko Kusanagi and her Japanese Macaques Jackie with her computer equipment.  
  


_atlantis gateroom..._

Sumner and Tony headed towards a door on the lower level, which opened automatically upon their approach. He turned back and started speaking, voice raised.

"Everyone else, find an open space and park it until instructed otherwise." Sumner ordered before talking into his radio. "McKay, how's the move out, over?"

" _Going as planned, Colonel._ " Jaylah reported. " _Pallets with the most important supplies are through. I have marines pushing the next lot of pallets through now, groups of four scientists coming in with the pallets plus one marine to oversee tagging of said pallet. Should be done in 15 minutes, over._ "

"Copy that, Colonel." Sumner clicked his radio off. Elizabeth stared around the room, and as she looked towards the stairs, noticing how they lit up as John and Rodney stepped up them. The large panther slinked up the steps ahead of Rodney, curious.

"Who's doing that?" Elizabeth asked wonderingly, then looked down at Orion. "Don't wander far, alright?"

"Mmkay." Orion started sniffing about, and Elizabeth smiled lightly.

"Security teams, any alien contact?" Sumner asked his security teams, who were exploring the outer hallways. Tony was exploring in the shadows, each one lighting up as he got there.

" _Negative, sir._ " Team One reported.

" _Team Four, negative, Colonel._ " John headed right at the top of the stairwell, walking into what looked like an ancient version of a Control Room.

"The lights are coming on by themselves." John said in awe.

"Colonel, that's everyone." Jaylah called as she, Ares, Stackhouse, Hypnos, Evan and Wendy - in a truly massive form - stepped through the gate behind the marines pushing the last crate through. It had been some 20 minutes since the gate had activated and they'd been surprised to get even that. Siler had warned them as the last crate had gone through that they were below 5% on the ZPM.

"That's everyone." Sumner told Elizabeth upon hearing his XO.

"General O'Neill? Atlantis base offers greetings from the Pegasus Galaxy. You may cut power to the 'gate." She informed Jack, and a large bottle of champagne rolls through the Stargate before the wormhole disengaged. Elizabeth picked up the bottle and reads the tag, smiling as she read it. "Bon Voyage - Gen. Jack O'Neill and Bart".

Looking around the gate room of Atlantis, Evan rubbed the back of his head at the excitable mental buzzing.

"Can you feel that?" Evan asked Jaylah as the ascended the stairs towards the control room. "It's like uh..."

"Like a fly that won't stop buzzing in your ear." John supplied, nodding at Evan. The two Major's had the strongest impression of the natural gene on the Expedition, Carson and Jaylah following afterwards, then it was Stacks and Jamie.

"Exactly." Evan agreed as Jaylah's radio crackled to life, the voice of an excited scientist filling the area.

"I can sorta feel it." Jaylah agreed. It felt like a constant buzz.

" _Doctor Weir, you have to see this._ " Jaylah located Elizabeth putting her bag down on the floor of a room just off the Control Room and they moved to join her. Quickly stripping off their packs and leaving them at the bottom of the step, the soulmate pair stepped into the control room at the same time Elizabeth and Orion crossed the catwalk into it. Rodney was standing behind a console, Ada up on her hind legs leaning against the side so she could see it. John was still in full gear, and Nymeria was perched on the console in front of John, but the bird seemed tense. Doctor Peter Grodin, a gate technician and tech expert, was looking around with Ziggy hanging off his back as usual.

"I have a lot of things to see. Just be careful." Elizabeth replied. Jaylah stepped towards her brother, but in doing so a console lit up and she recoiled violently, startling the group.

"I didn't touch it!" Jaylah flinched, holding both hands up in protest. Alarmed, Elizabeth and John watched as Rodney was quick to grab her wrist, and Wendy quickly transferred her grip from Evan to Jaylah. She seemed to relax at that, and Rodney ran his hand over Ares head in a quick soothing motion that made both woman and soul relax.

"Relax, Colonel." Elizabeth assured her. "It's like the entire complex is sensing our presence and coming to life." Jaylah nodded reluctantly, but clearly there was some underlying issues that she was working on because she still didn't come towards another console, instead stepping back towards the railing.

"This has got to be the control room." Rodney spoke up, stepping away from Jaylah, Ares and Wendy and surveying the room. He stopped in front of a control console that looked like a DHD. He ran his fingers over the unfamiliar star symbols. "This is obviously their version of a DhD."

"Oh, obviously." John mumbled sarcastically, glancing at Jaylah who was standing at the edge of one of the consoles, eyes on Rodney. Nymeria had her head cocked one way, watching. Evan lowered his gun, squeezed Jaylah's hand once before moving towards another console, which lit up when he touched it.

"Do you think it has to do with the ATA gene?" Evan asked Grodin.

"Perhaps." He agreed.

"This area could be power control systems, possibly a computer interface-" Rodney had completely ignored John's sarcastic comment, moving to another console as he spoke, until Elizabeth cut him off.

"Hey, hey." Elizabeth caught his questioning gaze, smiling. "Why don't you find out?"

"Right." Rodney nodded aimlessly.

" _Doctor Weir, Colonel Sumner. Could you come down and meet me, please? We're three levels down from you_."

"Right away." Elizabeth glanced at Jaylah quickly, who looked a little peaky.

"I'll meet you down there ma'am." John and Elizabeth nodded and headed out, their souls following. Grodin respectfully stepped out of earshot, and Jaylah all but collapsed forward against the console. Evan wrapped an arm around her waist, the contact helping. Ares whined, licking Evan and Jaylah's hands.

"Hey, it's fine." Rodney soothed, using a tone that was reserved for his sister. Their parents had screwed them up far too much, and Rodney - and now Evan - were the only people who could understand why she sometimes reacted like a scared kid. "We're not there. We are in the lost city of the freaking Ancients!"

"You're right. Sorry." Jaylah managed a smile, straightening up. Rodney moved away to give the couple a moment.

"You okay?" Evan asked, checking.

"I'm okay." Jaylah assured, meeting half way in a kiss. She grinned against his lips, feeling warm and tingly inside.

"Come on, we should meet Sumner." Evan said, pulling away. Sighing, Jaylah nodded.

"You know, when we're finally alone I am going to do things to you." Jaylah promised. Evan grinned widely.

"Oh yeah?" He asked.

"Oh yeah." Rodney made a disgusted noise and Jaylah cackled, throwing her head back. Evan pulled her hand and they headed for Sumner's location, their souls following behind.  
  
  



	9. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the city is remarkable...

**__ **

**_season 1 episode 1 & 2: rising_ **   
**_part 7..._ **

_several levels below control room..._

Elizabeth and John joined Sumner two floors down, Nymeria perched on his shoulder, Orion at her feet. Sumner was standing at the bottom of the stairs, his soul nowhere insight, but knew he wasn't far.

"We've only been able to secure a fraction of the place. It's huge." Sumner explained.

"So it might really be the lost city of Atlantis?" Elizabeth asked hopefully.

"I'd say that's a good bet." Sumner led them to a large glass window just as Jaylah and Evan came down the stairs. They slowed, seeing the window.

"Oh, my God." Elizabeth gawked. The window showed a scene of green murky water, sunlight barely peeking out of the top of the ocean, and below them could see dozens, possibly hundreds of tall spiral buildings that spanned outwards from the tower they were in. "We're underwater." Rodney came up behind them just then, speaking and not noticing the window the five of them were openly gawking at. The Panther lay down beside Ares, Wendy, Nymeria and Orion, who were waiting a little a ways from the humans.

"Colonel, Jay, Evan, Doctor Weir-" Rodney was saying, even as John interrupted him sounding excited.

"We're underwater."

"Yes, I was just coming to tell you." Rodney agreed. "Fortunately, there's some sort of a force field holding back the w..." He slowed to a stop beside Jaylah and Evan, looking out the window at the scene. "...water. Oh, that is impressive, isn't it?" Rodney shook his head, remembering why he came down to find them. "Uh, Doctor Beckett has found something you should, uh, see."  
  
  
  


_hologram room..._

Carson is standing at a tall interactive console in front of a holographic ancient woman who is talking when Elizabeth, Rodney, John, Jaylah, Evan and Sumner enter the room. His soul is sitting on his shoulder, watching the hologram curiously.

" **...in the hope of spreading new life in a galaxy where there appeared to be none. Soon, the new life grew and prospered. Here...** " The woman spoke. Carson spoke over her to the group.

"It's a hologram. The recording loops. This is my second time through." Carson explained.

"What have we missed?" Jaylah asked curiously.

"Not much." Carson assured.

" **...exchange knowledge and friendship. In time, a thousand worlds bore the fruit of life in this form and their souls as animals like ours. Then one day, our people set foot upon a dark world where a terrible enemy slept.** " Overhead, an image of the galaxy appeared with individual star systems lighting up. " **Never before had we encountered beings with powers that rivalled our own. In our overconfidence, we were unprepared and outnumbered. The enemy fed upon the defenceless human worlds like a great scourge, until finally, only Atlantis remained.** " The stars turn red, showing the spread of the 'terrible enemy' throughout the galaxy. " **This city's great shield was powerful enough to withstand their terrible weapons, but here we were besieged for many years. In an effort to save the last of our kind, we submerged our great city into the ocean. The Atlantis Stargate was the one and only link back to Earth from this galaxy, and those who remained used it to return to that world that was once home. There, the last survivors of Atlantis lived out the remainder of their lives. This city was left to slumber, in the hope that our kind would one day return.** " The hologram stopped then, and Carson stepped away from the console and the woman disappeared.

"Huh. So the story of Atlantis is true. A great city that sank in the ocean." Rodney mused.

"It just didn't happen on Earth." Carson agreed.

"Well, the Ancient Greeks must have heard it from one of the surviving Ancients." Jaylah said.

"I don't like the fact they got their asses kicked." Sumner groused and Jaylah couldn't help but agree. Peter entered, crossing the room and whispered to Rodney while Carson stepped back up to the console, activating the hologram again.

"Let's see again from the beginning."

"Stop. Turn it off." Rodney said nervously. Nonplussed, Beckett steps back from the console.

"Power levels throughout the city are dropping like a stone." Rodney explained frantically.

"What does that mean?" Sumner asked.

"That if we don't stop everything we're doing right now, we are dead." Rodney hurried out with Peter.  
  
  
  


_control room..._

Rodney located his computer the moment he got into the control room, typing rapidly. Jaylah came up beside him, reading the numbers on the screen.

"Please tell me this is not my fault." Carson said nervously.

"No." Rodney rolled his eyes, not looking up from his laptop.

"Thank you."

"From what we've been able to ascertain, the city is powered by three Zero-Point Modules." Rodney explained. Ares sensed Ada's distress and sat beside her, nudging her comfortingly with his muzzle. "Two are entirely depleted, and the third is reaching maximum entropy. When it does, it will die too, and nothing can reverse that."

"Just tell me the bottom line."

"The force field holding back the ocean has collapsed to its minimum sustainable levels. Look, you can see here and here where the shield's already failed and the city's flooded. It could've happened years ago. but... This section is likely more protected because of the Stargate."

"What if it fails completely?"

"It's a matter of "when," not "if." Isn't it, Rodney?" Jaylah interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly, Jay." Rodney nodded his head seriously.

"Colonel Sumner, Colonel McKay, you need to order your security teams to stop searching the city immediately." Elizabeth gave the two Colonel's a look, and Jaylah turned on her radio.

"This is Colonel McKay, all security teams, fall back to the gate room." Jaylah ordered but Rodney shook his head at her.

"That's not going to be good enough, Jay." Rodney stressed.

"Relax, Rodney." Evan stepped forward. "Now, how much time do we have?"

"It's hard to say." Rodney admitted, taking a deep breath and letting it out. "Hours, maybe days, if we minimize power expenditure."

"What about our own power generators?" Carson asked.

"We're working on that, but even with our most advanced, naquadah-powered generators, the equations are coming up far short." Rodney said.

"So we need to find more ZPMs." Elizabeth deduced.

"How do we do that if we can't search the city?" Sumner asked, but Jaylah was already shaking her head.

"If there were more here, we'd be able to detect them." She told Sumner.

"Can we use the Stargate?" Evan asked, looking at the gate.

"There's nowhere near enough power to open a wormhole back to Earth."

"Maybe somewhere in this galaxy." John offered.

"Well, that's relatively easy." Rodney considered. "Fortunately, some Ancient technology still uses good, old-fashioned push buttons, so we've been able to access the Stargate control system and a library of known gate addresses in the database."

"That's not all. Look at this." Peter pressed a button on the DhD console, and a version of the Iris on the Earth gate showed on the gate event horizon.

"Just like the Iris on the Earth gate." Sumner noted.

"Using power, using power, using power..." Rodney chanted nervously and Peter quickly shuts the shield down. Ziggy moved a little at Grodin's sharp move, hissing at Rodney who merely waved him off.

"Well, at least we don't have to deal with any uninvited guests." Elizabeth nodded. "Colonel, assemble a team. We need safe harbour, or better still, another power source." Sumner nodded and looked to Jaylah, Evan, Ares and Wendy.

"Colonel McKay, gather security teams One and Two." Jaylah nodded and headed down the stairs, speaking into her radio as she did. "Major Lorne, I'd like you and Wendy to stay here if you and McKay can handle the distance." Sumner might be a dick, but he knew better than anyone what happened with long distance soul bond separation after 6 hours

"Yes sir." Evan wasn't sure how comfortable he felt about that.  
  
  
  


_gateroom..._

"Lieutenant Ford, this is McKay, over."

" _This is Ford._ "

"Gather teams one and two and meet me in the gate room. Full gear, humans and souls, get ready to head out."

" _Yes ma'am._ " Ford clicked his radio off and Jaylah scanned the gateroom.

"Sergeant Stackhouse, Hypnos." He looked away from his tablet, and Jaylah remembered he was doing inventory as a part of his assigned duties. "I'd like you to accompany us thought the gate." Hypnos perked up from where she was sprawled across the boxes Robert was taking stock of.

"Yes ma'am."

"Assign someone to finish up the inventory before we leave. Full gear." He nodded sharply and went to locate his and Hypnos' gear and get ready, and Jaylah looked up at Sumner and gave him a sharp nod. Sumner did not bother arguing, knowing there wasn't a chance in hell she was going to stay behind in the City when she had a duty to protect her people. He admired that about her, though he'd never tell her that. Evan jogged down to the gate room, Wendy hanging off of Ares neck.

"Jay, Sumner wants me to stay in the city." Evan informed her. "We need a senior officer to stay behind."

"I don't like it, but he's right." Jaylah admitted. "6 hours. Even if the mission goes longer I'll gate back then or you come to the planet."

"Alright." Evan agreed, albeit reluctantly. "6 hours." Up in the gate room, Elizabeth turned to John, who was watching the gate room with a strange look.

"Major, I'd like you and Nymeria to go along." Elizabeth said to John, who nodded.

"Yes, ma'am." John replied.

"Alright, pick an address. Start dialling." Rodney pressed on one of the chevron keys, and the Stargate whirs to life and the first chevron lights up.

"Chevron one encoded." Rodney said and Elizabeth closed her eyes in exasperation.

"Rodney..."

"Fine." Rodney dialled the rest of the address quickly, and the Stargate readied for activation.

"Ready MALP Four for off-world recon." Peter spoke into his radio and Rodney pressed the centre control; the Stargate activated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get ready for the next chapter!! jaylah meets the second half of her and evan's soul bond, then john literally runs into his soulmate!!
> 
> enjoyy!!


	10. eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> meeting the athosians...

**season 1 episode 1 &2 ; rising...**   
**part 8...**

_atlantis gateroom..._

The two security teams were gathered a few feet from the gate, readying themselves and their souls in the tac gear. Evan double checked Jaylah and Ares gear, a habit he'd gotten since the two of them began going off world together 2 months ago when they first met. Once he'd finished Jaylah crouched beside Ares and started checking the straps, making sure they weren't too tight.

"Ready?" Jaylah asked Ares, who gave her a look only Ares could give and didn't deign her an answer. Just gave a little snort. "No need to be rude." She grumbled, getting back to her feet once she was sure his backpack was secure and stepping away to talk to the two security teams. Peter ran down the stairs and stopped near a pallet, studying a display with Ziggy occasionally hissing and the human answering.

"The MALP reads full viability and no immediate signs of activity around the Stargate, but its pitch black. For now, we're going to use the tried and true system for identification of inbound gate travellers." John joined the rest of the team, readying his infrared goggles that the rest of the teams are already wearing. Nymeria is picking at her own tac vest but shuddered her wings once more before settling on his shoulder. Sumner glanced at Elizabeth after he'd checked Tony's vest, who nodded.

"Let's move out!" Sumner called, leading the team through the gate. Jaylah quickly kissed Evan before heading towards the gate with John and Nymeria, and they both wave farewell to Rodney, Elizabeth and Evan before following the rest of the team through the gate.  
  
  
  


_athos..._

Once the team had stepped through the gate, Ford and Kali, Stackhouse and Hypnos, Bates and Callie, Jaylah and Ares, Sumner and Tony, and Sheppard and Nymeria spread out to check the area around the gate, Wilkins, Parker and Smithy securing the gate with their souls - a coyote, a snake and a lemur respectively.

"Take flight, Nymeria. Scout the area." John whispered, his soul taking off without a word into the night sky. John and Ford paired off, Jaylah and Robert doing the same when John heard a twig snap and motioned for them to hold. Ares and Hypnos get into defensive positions, ready at a moment's notice to pounce. Startled when a small figure ran into Ford's vision with a small dog-like animal running at his heels, he readies his weapon, scaring the hell out of the child and dog. Jaylah motioned to Ford sharply and he lowered his gun, although they all flinch when a loud snarling followed by another boy wearing a scary mask runs and tackled the boy, sending them both to the floor.

"Please, don't hurt us." The two kids stare at Jaylah and Ford and their souls in fear, Robert and John arriving just then. Jaylah can see how their souls could be intimidating, since Ares stood tall at the same height as the boys, Hypnos was probably longer than them as well.

"Lower your weapons now." Jaylah instructed sharply, the three men following orders immediately. At the same time another man ran into the clearing, stepping in front of the two kids protectively. Flinching backwards, Jaylah only barely got a hold of herself before her men could notice. Two soul animals came running out of the forest, joining the three natives.

"Please! They're just playing." The man protested, worried for the kids. Sumner and the rest of the team approach then.

"Is everything okay here, Sheppard?" Sumner asked the Major, who still had his gun raised slightly despite her order to lower them. To Jaylah and Ares he looked more startled than anything else, but her mind was elsewhere. And considering he'd only been off world 5 times - 3 of those times were training for the gate activation and all of those times she'd been with her soulmates team - she was impressed at how well he was handling it. She herself had only been involved with the project two months longer than him, but she was a trained SRE, S&R officer and had been on several of the missions off world with SG-12 to pull SG-1's ass outta the fire right before the expedition left the Milky Way.

"Yes, sir. Just a couple of kids." John released an unsteady breath and nodded when Jaylah tilted her head in questioning.

"Stand down, Ares." Jaylah commanded, the wolf doing so immediately, Stackhouse echoing the order to Hypnos. Even he had managed to pick up on her silent ways of communicating with others, though over the last few months he'd noticed she did it more with her brother. The man stood up fully, and Jaylah had to smother a smile with her hand when he stood several inches taller than Sumner and he raised his weapon in a guarded way. The man gathered the two boys close to him before turning to John and Jaylah with a small gesture towards himself.

"Halling, Tola." He introduced, but John just blanked.

"I don't know what that means."

"It's their names." Sumner said with an annoyed tone.

"Oh." Jaylah and Robert both smile in amusement at the embarrassed flush that covers the Major's cheeks. "Halling, Tola, it's nice to meet you."

"Are you here to trade?" Halling asked, and Jaylah decided now would be a good time to interrupt.

"Yes, we're hoping to discuss potential trade agreements with your people." Jaylah said smoothly, smiling kindly up at the much taller man. "I am Jaylah, and this is my soul, Ares." He regarded her for a minute, then turned to one of the boys.

"Now, how many times have I told you not to play in the forest after dark? I'm just glad you're safe." Halling and the boy touch foreheads, and Halling stood and faced Jaylah once more.

"Teyla and Rocha will wish to meet with you. Come." Halling gestured for Jaylah to follow, and she agreed. Sumner turned to Parker and Smithy.

"Parker, Smithy, you're on gate duty. Dial Atlantis base and let the good doctor know we've made contact with the indigenous people." The two marines nod and head off in that direction with their souls running behind them.

"Come on." Jaylah ordered. "Let's not keep the folk waiting." John and Ford glance at each other as Sumner rolled his eyes, but they all follow Halling and Tola.

"Sir, if you don't mind my asking..." Ford fell into step beside Colonel Sumner, the Major a few steps ahead and Lt Colonel McKay holding up the rear speaking with Sergeant Stackhouse. "Noticed you've got a problem with Major Sheppard and Lt Colonel McKay."

"My problem, Lieutenant, is with his record. I don't like anybody who doesn't follow the proper chain of command."

"Yes, sir. And McKay?"

"She's only here because of General O'Neill." Sumner groused. "But as much as I hate to admit it, she knows her stuff." Ford doesn't say anything else, just smirked. As much as Ford respected Colonel Sumner, he knew damn well that Colonel McKay had gained all the respect she has from the other marines because she not only stood up to Sumner several times, but also she's badass and does indeed know her stuff. Not to mention Sumner's refusal to piss of Major Lorne, who was a pain in the ass but an excellent officer. He could make your life miserable and leave no proof it was ever him.

Behind the two men Jaylah was bringing up the rear of the group, Sergeant Stackhouse walking beside her. Ares and Hypnos were trailing just behind them, watching. The two children from before, who had introduced themselves as Wex and Mala - he'd been wearing the mask and Mala was the wolf-like cat - and Jinto and Peyter - he was the small dog like creature - were asking them questions.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Jinto asked them curiously.

"On our homeworld, we're warriors." Robert told the two kids.

"The outfits distinguish us from the civilians." Jaylah continued. "People like you, and other kids."

"Oh." Jinto and Wex ran off, and Jaylah shook her head with amusement. Up ahead the two kids ran up beside Sheppard, curiously.

"What was that mask you had on?" Jinto asked Sheppard.

"It helps you see in the dark. Check it out." John explained to them, removing the infrared goggles and passing them to Jinto, who put them on.

"Whoa." Jinto said in awe.

"Let me see." Wex insisted, gaining the same star struck expression as Jinto once he looked. "Whoa. Can I have it?" Wex asked, unphased when John took back his goggles.

"No. What's the mask you got on?" John gestured to Wex's head.

"This?" Wex handed John the mask. "Wraith."

"Wraith? What's that?" John asked the kids, who looked at him in shock.

"You don't know?" Wex asked in surprise.

"What world do you come from?" Jinto asked, his tone filled with the same surprise as Wex.

"Can we go there?" Wex asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not. I come from a galaxy far, far away." The Star Wars reference goes over the two kids heads, but John doesn't seem to care. They arrive at a settlement of several tents, campfires burning. Jaylah and Ares move towards the front of the group, stepping up beside John and Nymeria who had landed on John's shoulder.

"Skies are clear, Johnny." Nymeria told him.

"Thanks Ny. Skies are clear, sir, ma'am." John relayed to Sumner and Jaylah, both nodding.

"This way." Halling said, directing the Earthers into a large tent. "It's Halling and Tola. We bring men from away."

"Enter!"  
  


_inside..._

The inside of the tent was quite homely. In the middle was a table large enough to accommodate at least a dozen people comfortably, chairs around it to support that thought. Standing just in front of the table was a man and a woman. But it was the woman that Jaylah noticed first. She was shorter than her, about 5ft 3inches, with beautiful long red hair and kind, warm brown eyes. She was wearing a long, light coloured jacket, her clothes artful yet looked worn, her boots dirty. She frowned at them all, taking in their out-of-place weapons and clothing, then she also froze when she made eye contact with Jaylah.

Because standing in front of her, on an alien planet billions of lightyears from home, was the third soulmate of Jaylah McKay and Evan Lorne.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!


	11. nine

**season 1 episode 1 &2 ; rising...**   
**part 9...**

_inside..._

"These men wish to trade." Halling informed the woman, standing close to her and glancing over at them. John nervously pulled off his goggles and ruffled his hair, making it look wilder. Jaylah stepped forward with a kind smile, snapping out of her momentary shock, and the leader smiled back, but neither said a word, seeming to understand the almost electric feeling tingling beneath their skin. She recognised it well, an all to similar feeling to her first meeting with Evan.

"Oh, it's...it's nice to meet you." John said, stepping up beside Jaylah with a charming smile and for once not flirting with the woman. Of course Jaylah knew John was being kind, it didn't stop the low growl emitted by her soul.

"I am Teyla Emmagan, daughter of Tagan." Teyla introduced herself. "This is Rocha." She gestured to the stark white creature at her feet.

"An honour to meet you, Teyla. I am Lt Colonel Jaylah McKay, sister of Doctor Rodney McKay. And this is Ares." Jaylah was doing her best to stay calm, yet her heart was beating fast and her palms felt sweaty.

"Colonel Marshall Sumner and Tony, Major Sheppard and Nymeria, Lieutenant Ford and Kali. We have very few specific needs." Colonel Sumner interrupted, reminding Jaylah about why they were there.

"We do not trade with strangers." Teyla said sharply, sternly, annoyed with the Colonel for interrupting.

"Is that a fact?" Sumner asked, raising a brow.

"Well, then, we'll just, uh...we'll have to get to know each other. Me, um, I like Ferris wheels and college football, anything that goes more than 200 miles per hour." John rambled a little, clearly nervous. Jaylah gave a small smile, and Aiden leaned over towards the Major.

"Sir, that's not going to mean anything to them." Ford reminded him, and John replied in the same low tone.

"Feel free to speak up. I'm just trying to break the ice here."

"These people can't help us. I'd rather not waste the time." Speaking in the same tone, and this time nobody missed the low growl Ares gave, nor did anyone miss the noise Nymeria gave out. It unsettled John, because for as long as he'd known about Soulmates, he knew your soul would know before you did, if they were near or right in front of you. From what John was able to surmise, Teyla and Jaylah were soulmates, and his was nearby.

"Each morning, before dawn, our people drink a stout tea to brace us for the coming day. Will you join us?" She directed the question towards John and Jaylah, who had been nothing but courteous towards her the whole morning.

"I'd love a cup of tea." Jaylah smiled, Teyla returning the smile as John gave a similar smile as he stepped up beside Jaylah.

"I love a good cup of tea. Now, there's another thing you know about us." John turned back to Sumner. "We're practically friends already." Ford looked at Sumner, who quirked an eyebrow and smiled at John's tactic despite himself.  
  
  
  


After the tea which was more like watered down coffee, during which Jaylah and Teyla kept sneaking glances at each other, and it was almost like Sumner could tell Jaylah wanted to talk with the Athosian leader alone, because as much as he didn't like her, Sumner was damn respectful of soulmate potential meetings. With soulmates, it was tricky, because while some people had words that their soulmates speaks to them for the first time, others had symbols that represented the other in a way nothing else did. Some had both, and some had none. For Jaylah and Evan, both of their marks had been symbols, one of which was unidentifiable - both she and Evan had spent a few hours one evening pouring over books in Daniel's lab, books on earth and other cultures they had records of but had turned up empty.

"Ford, Sheppard, with me." Summer jerked his head out the tent, and both following him and leaving the two women inside the tent.

"You believe in soulmates?" Teyla inquired, gazing at Jaylah.

"It's taboo not too." Jaylah replied. "It's one of the few things my world agrees on collectively. My brother is a little more wary to believe these things, but our sister and i managed to persuade him that even if he didn't have a mark, there was still someone out there for him. Somewhere."

"That is a similar belief to my people's." Teyla smiled. "We also believe that the only sure way to know if someone is your soulmate is by touching the other's mark, if they have no words but only symbols. Would that be acceptable?"

"Yes, that would be." Jaylah smiled. "Would you like to go first of shall i?"

"You can go first." Teyla said, and Jaylah nodded. She removed her tac vest, then uniform jacket and placed them neatly on the table. She hesitated, then stood up and untucked her black t-shirt.

"Your mark is on my hip." Jaylah explained, unbuttoning her uniform trousers and inching them down, and Teyla saw the mark, of a 5-point-star with a cross that seemed to cross beneath it.

"That is the mark of a protector of Athos." Teyla whispered, and Jaylah wasn't sure if she was supposed to hear it. Teyla stood and rounded the table, and Ares and Rocha perked up from where they were curled up together at the foot of the table, watching. Teyla stopped in front of Jaylah, looking at the McKay woman for permission. When Jaylah nodded, Teyla ran her fingers over the skin of her bare hip. Jaylah grabbed her arms with a sharp gasp. The sensations that flew through her were unlike anything she had ever felt yet so very similar to what she experienced with Evan, like every good thing she had ever wanted all at once surging through her body until it left her gasping and shuddering, their foreheads pressed tightly together. She let out a slightly hysterical laugh as it abated. Teyla removed her hand from Jaylah's hip, though she only slid her hand over a little so she was still touching skin. The sensations slowly faded, and Jaylah gulped in uneven breaths even as a smile broke out across her face.

"That was intense." She whispered. Teyla was still looking downwards, and Jaylah remembered then that she had two marks. Her second mark was farther up her stomach, just under the curve of her ribs.

"This mark is unfamiliar.." Teyla noted, and Jaylah was glad she didn't sound worried or disgusted. On Earth it wasn't common to have two or more marks. "I've always wondered, but no planet i travelled to could tell me. What does it mean?"

"There's a culture on my world, one long gone, called the Aztec's. The symbol represents power, courage, strength, which suits him very much." Jaylah told her, and was glad her questioning confirmed that Teyla had the same mark. She looked up at her. "Our third's name is Major Evan Lorne, he's part of our exploratory team. We met four months ago. He had to stay back on base, since he's one of the highest ranking officers."

"I cannot wait to meet him." Teyla said honestly, a little shocked by the events unfolding. "What did it feel like?"

"It's hard to explain." Jaylah admitted. "It would be easier to show you."

"Alright." Reluctantly Teyla let go of Jaylah, who buttoned herself back up and tucked her top back in. Teyla removed her large coat, placing on top of Jaylah's before turning around. Moving her hair, Teyla showed Jaylah the mark that belonged to her. It sat at the top of her spin, the wings spreading out towards her shoulders.

"The Fire Phoenix." Jaylah smiled. "On my world, the phoenix is a bird that lives many lives, born from its own ashes."

"Interesting." Teyla mused. Jaylah stepped closer to her, and pressed her palm against the mark and grabbing Teyla's waist when the woman surged forward with a sharp gasp, steadying her. Jaylah held on for as long as Teyla had, before slowly slipping her hand over to the bare skin of Teyla's shoulder.

"You're right. That is hard to put into words." Teyla turned in Jaylah's hold, pressing their foreheads together.  
  
  
  


_athos, outside..._

While this was happening, outside the tent Sumner approached Sergeant Bates, who was looking through a pair of binoculars at something. His soul was a few paces down, splashing around in the water.

"We didn't even know it was there until the sun came up." Bates informed Sumner. He looked through the binoculars at the ruins of an Ancient city across the water.

"Looks more promising than anything else these folks have to offer. Plenty of shelter, nice, little valley. Location, location, location." He hands the binoculars back to Bates, who took them. "Sheppard, find out if Miss Emmagan and Lt Colonel McKay are finished."

"Yes sir." John span on his heel and headed back up to the tent- and was almost run over by a man running through the camp. John barely caught himself and the man, his hands grabbing onto the others forearms to steady them both.

" **Woah, easy there!** " John said without thinking. " **You were moving awfully fast.** "

" **And you weren't looking where you were going.** " The man shot back just as fast, and John stared at him in shock.

"What?" He whispered, but the warm, pleasant burn in the words scribbled across his thigh was hard to miss.

"I'm Adrian. And this is Sea." The man quickly introduced himself. "You spoke my words."

"John. Um, Nymeria." He said, a little in awe. "I don't-"

"This is a lot." Adrian agreed. Neither had let go of the other, and John couldn't stop looking at Adrian. Nymeria made an eager noise and flew to the ground from John's shoulder, landing in front of the red panda sitting on its haunches and watched it curiously. From a few feet down, Sumner couldn't prevent the sigh of exasperation at the sight of yet another one of his officers meeting their soulmate.

"Find me when we can talk with Miss Emmagan." Sumner groused before walking off in a different direction, probably going to check in with his men at the gate. Ford chuckled in amusement, and Bates went back to looking through his binoculars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> introducing the second soulmate meeting!!!


	12. ten

**season 1 episode 1 &2 ; rising...**   
**part 10...**

_athosian settlement, athos..._

Jaylah and Teyla were sitting close together and they were speaking quietly when, without warning, a young man who seemed about the same age as Teyla came into the tent, and Jaylah was amused to see a bewildered John being dragged in after him. Teyla gave the man a sharp glare that he apparently didn't seem all that bothered by. Nymeria flew into the opening John left for her, and Adrian's red panda-like animal called Sea.

"Adrian, how many times must you be told it's rude to enter unannounced?" Teyla asked exasperatedly, but Adrian appeared unphased which Jaylah found more than amusing. Stepping away from Teyla took some willpower, since all she wanted was to stay in her hold forever, and finished putting her uniform back on. Teyla put her coat back on, though she did step closer to Jaylah once she had.

"And i've told you that telling me so isn't going to change anything, sister." Adrian replied, amused. "Now, more pressing matters."

"Colonel Sumner wants to talk to you." John said, speaking up for the first time since Adrian dragged him into the tent. "About the ruins across the lake."

"Very well." Teyla nodded, but she was frowning. "Adrian, please call for Toran."

"Anything for my little sister." Adrian teased as he left. Teyla sighed.

"Major, tell Sumner he can come in whenever." Jaylah ordered, and John nodded sharply and left with Nymeria on his shoulder, looking more than a little relieved as he did so.

"You look concerned." Jaylah said, leaning back on the table. Her uniform was back on securely, and her arms were crossed across her chest. Ares was sitting by her feet, the large wolf looking every ounce of dangerous he was.

"The City of the Ancestors is not safe." Teyla replied, Rocha moving to sit beside her feet. "Many believe the Wraith will come if we venture inside the city."

"Wraith?" Shock flashed across Teyla's face, but before she could answer Adrian re-entered the tent along with Toran and his soul, John and Nymeria only a few paces behind him with Sumner and Tony, Ford and Kali.

"Toran, Molia." Teyla greeted with foreheads pressed together for a moment. "They wish to venture into the City."

"The city of the Ancestors is not safe." Toran immediately said, facing the strangers.

"We can handle ourselves." Sumner assured them.

"The Wraith will come." Toran insisted.

"Who are these Wraith?" Jaylah asked, speaking up. Teyla turned back to her soulmate, looking wary.

"We have never met anyone who did not know." Teyla said slowly, wary of them.

"Well, you have now."

"If the Wraith have never touched your world, you should go back there now."

"Oh, we'd like to, but we can't. See, here's the thing, ma'am." John explained. "We've got ourselves into a bit of a bind, and we may need a safe place to stay for a while."

"Our people have long believed that the Wraith will come if we venture into the old city. But it is a belief we've not tested in some time." Teyla said the last part slowly, but still sounded wary of the Earthers. Apparently Sumner took this as a yes, and turned to his men.

"Gentlemen." Sumner lead them outside, and Jaylah gave Teyla a reassuring smile before following herself, leaving Adrian, Teyla and Toran to chat.  
  
  
  
  


_outside..._

"Look, I don't care what they say. That city is worth a look, not to mention the possibility there could be ZPMs there that they don't know or care about."

"What if the Wraith are the enemy the Ancient hologram lady is talking about?" John asked Sumner.

"All the more reason for us to have a defensible position should we have to abandon Atlantis." The Military Leader countered, levelling him with a look before adjusting his gaze to encompass both him and his 2IC. "Stay here and find out what you can." They both nodded sharply, and doubled back to the tent. Sumner then spoke to Aiden. "Ford, you head back to the gate and report in to Weir. Tell her we'll have answers for her in a few hours."

"Yes, sir."  
  
  
  
  


_inside..._

Back inside the tent, Jaylah immediately moved back to Teyla's side, and relief coursed through her as Teyla rested a hand on her sleeved arm. Part of her soul still yearns for Evan, but she compartmentalised. Jaylah noticed John standing quite close with Adrian.

"Well, I guess it's just you and me...And him." Jaylah flirted a little, sending Toran a small scowl. "And them but, i know John, he's good."

"Your leader looks through me as if I were not there." Teyla stated, staring at her soulmate curiously as she nodded towards Sumner.

"Do I?" Jaylah asked sweetly.

"No." She replied with a small smile, making Jaylah grin a little stupidly at the fluttery feeling through her chest. "You truly cannot return to your world?"

"No." John said quietly, answering for them both.

"Then there is something you should see." Teyla told them. "Adrian, show John the left, i'll go right with Jaylah."

"Of course, Teyla." Adrian took that offer as what it was - a chance for him to get to know his soulmate more. Jaylah glanced at her watch - 4 hours until either Evan needed to come here, or Jaylah needed to return to Atlantis.  
  
  
  
  
  


_jaylah..._

Teyla lead her soulmate over an embankment, their souls almost mirroring them as the two humans hold hands.

"How much further is this place?" Jay enquires curiously.

"Not far." Teyla assures her. The trip down the embankment goes smoothly, and Teyla raises an impressed eyebrow as Jaylah shrugged.

"I did rock climbing as a kid." She explained as they walked. "It's a sport where you climb up or down slopes of mountains with a thin harness or nothing at all attached to you."

"It sound's interesting. This... rock climbing." Teyla tests the words out, smiles when they don't feel all that strange on her tongue.

"Maybe if we get back to earth we'll take you." Jaylah offered with a wry smile.

"I'd like that."  
  
  
  


_john..._

To the left of the Camp, Adrian was leading John towards the catacombs from the oldest city, those that still stood where the Athosians hid during Wraith culling's.

"What is your world like?" Adrian asked curiously, spinning so he was walking backwards and facing the Earth soldier.

"It's... huge." John settled on. "People live on every continent, we have technology some worlds could only dream of. But there's um, a lot of war and conflict."

"Like what?"

"There's a faction of religious extremist who control the most part of three small countries on my world. They've got spies and terror cells planted in my country and others around our world. We fight them, trying to protect innocent." John wasn't good at explaining things, but thankfully Adrian understood.

"They believe their way of thinking is the only way." He surmised. "I think i know what you mean."

"So how far are we?" John changed the subject, and Adrian glanced around.

"Not far, a few hundred meters or so." Adrian informed him.  
  
  
  


_atlantis..._

Back in the Atlantis Control room, Elizabeth and Orion re-joined Rodney and Ada at one of the control consoles, the scientist working away.

"Tell me some good news, Rodney." Elizabeth said hopefully.

"I can't do that." Rodney frowned.

"The shield has held back the ocean for centuries." Elizabeth said in exasperation. Orion growled at Rodney, and Ada hissed back.

"Down girl." Rodney said to his soul before replying. "And probably would've kept going for years more, but our arrival changed that. Now it's nothing more than a thin shell between the buildings and the water."

"We stopped exploring." At this point they were grasping at straws and they both knew it.

"The damage was already done." Rodney admitted. "Another section of the city, on the far side, was flooded an hour or so ago."

"Even occupying this room is draining power." Peter added.

"We need to evacuate the moment Colonel Sumner reports back it's safe." Rodney said seriously. Evan jogged into the control room then, Wendy latched onto his jacket straps and her chin on his shoulder.

"You're saying we have to abandon the city?" Elizabeth said with disbelief evident. The City made a creaking noise around them, and Rodney pointed in the direction of the shield.

"The sooner we leave, the longer that shield holds."  
  
  
  


_athos..._   
_jaylah..._

Teyla lead Jaylah towards a cave, the Athosian holding her hand as they stopped in front of the entrance. Their souls didn't stop, venturing further into the cave.

"Why did it have to be a cave?" Jaylah grumbled to herself, a little panicky.

"Is everything alright?" Teyla asked with concern, stopping and facing Jaylah.

"I uh, have this condition, called claustrophobia." Jaylah explained shakily. "Small, enclosed area's can, in the wrong circumstances, well most circumstances actually, send me spiralling."

"I'm right here." Teyla assured, squeezing her hand. "If it helps, i'll hold your hand, the entire time."

"You know, only three other people have ever been so understanding." Jaylah choked out a laugh. "You've barely known me a few hours."

"Jaylah McKay, you are my soulmate." Teyla said firmly. "You crossed a, galaxy, yes?" Jaylah nodded. "A galaxy, just to end up right here, with me. I'm not going to let go of you, not now, not ever."

"Thank you." Jaylah took a breath before nodding. "Let's go."  
  
  
  


_john..._

A few miles south of Teyla and Jaylah's location, Adrian and John were deep in the catacombs. Nymeria was perched firmly on his shoulder and Sea was hanging from Adrian's shoulder.

"My sister and i used to play in these tunnels as children." Adrian informed John. "We believe the survivors of the last great attack hid from the wraith." Adrian picked up a torch from the ground, and John pulled out his trusty air force zippo.

"Here." John handed Adrian the zippo upon noticing he didn't seem to be able to find his own lighter device.

"Ours are much different." Adrian figured out the zippo relatively easy, using it to light the torch. "Thank you."

"Any time." John doesn't take back the lighter, and turned on the torch for his weapon as Adrian lead them into another chamber that was darker than the last, hence the lights. As Adrian goes on to explain the drawings on the walls, John can't help but smile at how passionate he sounds.  
  
  
  


_jaylah..._

Jaylah frowned when something reflected off the dirt, crouching down to pick it up.

"What's this?" Jaylah asked Teyla, who looked surprised.

"I lost this years ago." Teyla breathed. "Where did you-"

"It was just laying there, under the dirt." Jaylah gestured. "Allow me?" Teyla turned around, and Jaylah put the necklace on her. Jaylah smiled when Teyla turned around, the disk of the necklace resting against the hollow of her throat.

"Thank you." Teyla smiled. Jaylah looked around the cave, throat tightening even as Teyla held her hand again.

"Someone's been busy, huh?" It was then Jaylah noticed the drawings on the walls.

"The drawings in the caves are extensive. Many must date back thousands of years or more." Teyla mused.

"Does this represent the destruction of your city?" Jaylah asked curiously, brushing her fingers over the drawings.

"This drawing far predates that." Teyla informed her.

"So, what? Someone knew it was going to happen?"

"I believe it happens...again and again." Teyla said. "The Wraith allow our kind to grow in numbers, and when that number reaches a certain point, they return to...cull their human herd. Sometimes, a few hundred years will pass before they awaken again. We've visited many, many worlds. I know of none untouched by the Wraith. The last great holocaust was five generations ago, but still, they return in smaller numbers, to remind us of their power."

"That's a hell of a way to live." Jaylah frowned.  
  
  
  


_john..._

Across in the catacombs, John had said something similar to Adrian, who shrugged.

"We move our hunting camps around." Adrian explained. "We try to teach our children not to live in fear, but it is hard. Some of us can sense the Wraith coming. That gives us warning. We should go. It will be dark soon." Adrian and Teyla, in the two different area's, lead their soulmates and their souls away from the cave/catacombs.  
  
  
  


_ford..._

"Man, days are short here." Ford noted with some surprise. He was standing by the DhD with two other Marines and Kali running around at his feet.

" _LtC McKay, this is Colonel Sumner. Come in._ " Ford's radio crackled as Sumner spoke, who was on his way back to camp.

"Colonel, this is Lieutenant Ford. LtC McKay is out of radio range at the moment with Major Sheppard." Ford informed him.

" _Where the hell are they?_ " Sumner asked, walking back into the settlement.

"I think Teyla and Adrian wanted them to see something." Just then, the Stargate activated and Ford startled, since he hadn't dialled it.

"Defensive positions." Ford shouted to the other men. "Colonel, we have gate activity here." Aiden pulled his goggles off as three small fighter-like air crafts come through at impressive speed, making a horrible whining noise as they did. "Colonel, three bandits headed your way."

"Take cover!" Sumner shouted. A woman screamed as people panic and scatter. One fell over and Sumner was quick to help. "Get up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here come the wraith!! things get interesting next!!


	13. eleven

**season 1 episode 1 &2 ; rising...**   
**part 11...**

_  
john and jaylah..._

Teyla and Adrian paused as they lead their soulmates back to the Settlement. They'd met up about half a klick back, roughly the same place they split. Jaylah and John are immediately on edge, their souls all looking worried as the two Athosians listened carefully.

"What is it?" John asked them.

"The Wraith." Teyla said darkly, and they ran towards the settlement.  
  
  
  


_settlement..._

In the Settlement the Athosians are racing to evacuate. There's screaming, children being pulled to safety by adults. The Earthers are looking around, Halling is searching the camp for his son.

"Just leave it." Someone shouted.

"Jinto, come. Jinto." Sumner warily looked around the camp, spotting the ship making a pass overhead. He jogs towards the woods. He saw Halling and some other Athosians jogging towards him, then getting swept up in an energy beam from the ship and completely disappearing. His eyes widen in horror when he saw the Soul's that hadn't been caught by the beam disappear in a puff of white smoke.

"Fire on that target!" Sumner shouted, and he and others fire their rifles at the ship as it loops to make another pass. Around them, they spot wisps of movement, unformed ghosts that disappear before they can focus on them.  
  
  
  


_jaylah and john..._

Teyla and Adrian race back to the settlement. John and Jaylah struggled to keep up with their soulmates.

"Teyla!" Jaylah shouted.

"Adrian!" John shouted at the same time.

" _Colonel, they're on the ground. They're all around us._ " They hear Bates tell the Colonel then, meaning their back in radio range. John and Jaylah turned to follow Teyla and Adrian at a fork in the path, but can no longer see them. A Wraith ship passes over head.

"Teyla?" Jaylah called warily, and they hear wisps of movement the same as Sumner did at camp. John fired at one as it dissipated. Jaylah aimed at another, but Teyla stepped through it, breaking the illusion and stalking right up to Jaylah.

"They are not really there." She assured her soulmate, and she blinked. Sheppard lowered his weapon and approached, nonplussed. "Do not trust your eyes. The Wraith can make you see things that are not there. We must hurry."

"Wait, where's Adrian?" John asked.

"He went ahead to the settlement." Teyla informed him. "Now we must hurry."  
  
  
  


_settlement..._

The Wraith ship comes around again, firing blasts at the settlement. The earthers are firing at the apparitions around them.

" _Colonel, this is McKay. What you see on the ground is just an illusion. It's not real. Concentrate your fire on the ships._ " Jaylah told Colonel Sumner, who started yelling around him.

"Fire at the ships! Fire at the ships!" Several of his command follow his orders, ceasing their aim at the wisps and shooting at the ships. Sumner moves over to Bates, who's frozen at the illusions, still holding his bazooka.

"Bates, snap out of it!" Sumner shook him.

"They're everywhere, sir." Bates replied, terrified. Sumner dragged him over to an open spot and pointed to a ship.

"Take that thing down!" Sumner ordered. Bates followed the order and blasts the ship out of the sky. Sumner and Bates are both immediately swept up by a beam from another ship. Their souls disappear in a puff of white smoke.  
  
  
  


_jaylah and john..._

A beam chased John, Jaylah, and Teyla through the forest. John dives right and Jaylah left, but Teyla gets swept up in the beam and their souls disappear in a puff of white smoke like all the others. Sheppard turned around and gets up, but all is quiet. Jaylah scrambled to her feet, eyes wide as she no longer sees Teyla in the clearing.

"Teyla. Teyla?" Jaylah called, anxious.

"Ma'am, the Colonel's been taken." Stackhouse said over the radio, and Jaylah and John have no time to panic as they run towards the settlement, a heavy feeling resting in their guts as their souls run behind them.  
  
  
  


_ford..._

Back at the Stargate, The DHD began to activate. Ford, taking cover behind it, spotted the chevrons lighting up and goes for his radio.

"The 'gate's coming on again. Two enemy ships approaching." The gate activated.

" _Let them go._ " Jaylah ordered. " _There are friendlies and soulmates onboard. Look at the dialling device. Burn those symbols into your mind._ " The two ships passed through the Stargate. Ford nervously stared at the DhD, looking at the address lit before it shut down.  
  
  
  


_settlement..._

It's not until the ship goes through the gate that the pain rips through the two officers that are standing in the middle of the broken and destroyed Athosian camp and the gate shuts down. Lieutenant Ford had just sprinted into the camp when it became overwhelming and Jaylah screamed and John cried out and both of them had collapsed hard into the mud.

"Colonel, Major!" Ford shouted, panicked, sprinting over to his two senior officers. Ares is whining frantically, licking at her cheek and Jaylah barely pulls herself up enough to wrap her arms around him. "What happened? Sir!"

"Soulmates." John managed through clenched teeth, now aware of why he hadn't been able to find Adrian. Nymeria was cawing distressedly, running her beak through his hair. "Taken." Ford gasped, getting it. Ford himself was a blank, but he knew John had a mark and that Jaylah had two. He also knew that one of Jaylah's soulmates was back on Atlantis and that the other, along with John's, had been scooped up by the wraith darts.

"Come on, we need to get back to Atlantis, now." Ford said. John managed to get himself to his feet while Stackhouse, who managed to evade capture by the hair on his teeth, crouched beside her.

"Ma'am, can I touch you?" Stackhouse asked.

"Yes." Jaylah nodded reluctantly. Stackhouse crouched down and helped her to her feet.

"Son of a..." John swore, shooting. Stackhouse and Jaylah looked over to see him shooting a severed hand that was fucking moving.

"What the fuck."

"Help! Help me." Jinto said, sounding frantic as he ran up to them. The two officers plus Jinto look down at the hand, no longer moving. "I can't find my father." Sheppard clutched Jinto's shoulder, and upon glancing at his superior, shoved his panic of not knowing where his soulmate was down far. They had other things to worry about right now.

"Lieutenant, i'm going to need some help." John admitted hesitantly, his knees unsteady. Ford didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around John's back, supporting him.

"Let's go."  
  
  
  


_atlantis..._

Peter and Ziggy are by a window looking out at the city, Peter holding a scanner. Elizabeth and Evan come up to stand beside him, Orion beside her heel as usual and Wendy hanging from the straps of his vest, her chin on his shoulder.

"Here it comes." Peter said.

"What am I looking for?" Elizabeth asked curiously, and then she saw it. Part of the city glowed for a moment with a strange clunking noise, and bubbles erupt from a section of the city.

"Oh, that looks bad." Evan commented, grimacing.

"There." Peter announced. "Another part of the force field just failed. I don't think we have much time."  
  
  
  


_control room..._

Rodney is moving between the panels rather frantically, though he's not the only one. Elizabeth returned, going straight to her lead Scientist, Evan following behind her.

"How are we doing?" She asked. "If we can just buy ourselves another day, maybe we could-" Rodney cut her off, shaking his head.

"The city is sacrificing parts of itself in order to maintain these main areas, but catastrophic failure is inevitable." He explained.

"Not in my wildest dreams did I hope to find the lost city of the Ancients so completely untouched, so pristine, and we have no choice but to walk away from this?" Elizabeth exclaimed, glancing at Rodney.

"In order to save it." He insisted.

"To save it for whom? We don't have enough power to send a message. As far as Earth is concerned, we're just going to be missing, presumed lost." Elizabeth was frustrated.

"We'll be back. We'll find a power source somewhere in Pegasus."

"We have yet to hear from Colonel- Major, what's wrong?" Elizabeth caught sight of Evan, who let out a loud gasp and pressed his hand against his chest, frowning.

"I-i don't-" he let out a startled and pained gasp, his knee's going out from under him and crashing back into the console and hitting the ground. Panicked, Elizabeth radioed Carson as she rounded the desk, dropping down beside him but not touching. Wendy was panicking, making widely distressed noises when Evan, back pressed against the console, went still. "Jaylah." He whispered, barely audible, hand now pressed against his bicep, obviously where his soul mark with Jaylah is.

"What?" Elizabeth said strongly. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Evan admitted. "Something-something's happened-"

"We can't wait. It is time to go, now." Elizabeth looked up at Rodney for a moment who looked as panicked as she did, but nodded and stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the gate, and keyed her handheld radio.

"Attention, all personnel. This is Weir." A heavy rumbling begins to sound the City starts shaking. Peter and Rodney stumble for controls while the souls all make distressed noises at the unknown shaking. "Stand by for immediate evacuation." Elizabeth turned to Rodney. "Dial the gate." He does, but another signal comes in too fast and the shield goes up.

"We've got an incoming wormhole."

"I'm reading Lieutenant Ford's identification code." Peter informed them.

"Let 'em in." Elizabeth ordered. The shield is dropped, and a pale and shaky looking John comes through the gate being supported by Aiden, leading the surviving Athosians and their souls into the gateroom. Nymeria flies overhead through the gate, cawing before settling on an overhead support beam so she can watch over the Athosians. Evan launched to his feet and practically sprinted down to the gate room, Wendy close on his heel. As Carson arrived, the term bond shock flittered through her memory and she shuddered.

"Step in, folks. Move away from the puddle." John ordered, voice hoarse.

"I think Major Lorne is going in bond shock, Carson." Elizabeth informed the doctor as he arrived, who cursed. Elizabeth hit the gateroom floor and started questioning John, but Evan was focused on Jaylah coming through the gate supported between two marines, looking as worn and pale as Evan and John.

"Colonel McKay! Colonel, who are these people?" Elizabeth demanded, and upstairs Rodney gives a silent relieved sound as he hears his sister reply.

"Survivors from the settlement. We were attacked." Jaylah said shortly, voice sounding strained, doing one final headcount and was worried upon counting they were missing 4 soldiers, and according to Charin, the Athosian elder, there was 12 Athosian's missing, including the Emmagan children and Halling. She was very clearly barely staying on her feet as Stackhouse allowed Evan to take his place, supporting his soulmate with an arm around her waist. "Sumner and some of our men were taken. What's going on?" Jaylah suddenly noticed they looked prepared to evacuate, and frowned. Elizabeth got as close as she was comfortable with two clearly adjitated souls guarding Jaylah and Evan.

"We are in no position to help anyone right now." Elizabeth hissed.

"What the hell's going on here?" John asked.

"We were about to abandon the city." Elizabeth informed them.

"Going back there is a really bad idea." Stackhouse voiced immediately, his two superiors nodding.

"Colonel, the shield is about to fail, and the ocean is about to come crashing in on us. Do you have a better place for us to go?" The question was directed at Jaylah, but it was John who answered. Jaylah couldn't form a reply, instead let out a low whine of pain and curled into Evan, who looked alarmed.

"What the hell happened out there, Sergeant?" Evan asked sharply.

"LtC McKay found your other soulmate, Major." Stacks quickly informed everyone, though he did allow a brief amount of relief to cross his face as Jamie slid up beside him and put his hand on Stacks shoulder. "As did Major Sheppard. Unfortunately, both Adrian and Teyla were taken by the Wraith along with the Colonel, Sergeant Bates, a dozen Athosians and 2 of our soldiers."

"Oh no." Elizabeth gasped.

"Jinto, you have any other address we can gate to?" John asked the boy, sounding a little frantic, who nodded.

"Yes, many."

"He's just a boy." Elizabeth said in disbelief.

"I am Jinto." He introduced himself with a hand to his chest as John grabbed Jinto by the arm and herds him up to the control room, Nymeria and Peyter running after them.

"She's pleased to meet you." John answered for Elizabeth.

"The shield is collapsing!" Rodney shouted loud enough for everyone to hear. Before anything else could be processed everyone - human and animal - went crashing to the floor as the city began to rise from the ocean. Cries of pain could be heard across the room, but none more from Evan and Jaylah, who, upon falling, went into sensory failure and passed out cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh shit...


	14. twelve

**season 1 episode 1 &2 ; rising...**   
**part 12...**

_control room/gateroom..._

"I'm dialling an address." Peter called frantically.

"No, wait." Elizabeth shouted from the gateroom.

"She's right." Rodney said loudly, watching his laptop screen. Around them, the water moved downwards past the windows as the City rose from the bottom of the ocean.

"We're moving!" John realised. The city breaks through the surface of the ocean. Daylight streams through the windows as the city continues to reach for the sky. Everyone looks on in wonder at the light around them. Systems again turn on. Stackhouse scrambled to his feet the second the city stopped shaking, looking frantically for Carson.

"Doctor Beckett!" He shouted. Said Doctor poked his head up from behind a console in the control room, swearing when he saw the condition of Evan and Jaylah.

"Don't touch em!" Carson ordered. "Ares and Wendy will attack if you try to touch without permission." Carson hit the floor beside the couple, ignoring the sharp pain in his knees from the impact. A quick assessment told Carson that both officers were completely unconscious. Elizabeth had pushed the Athosians back from them with the help of the marines who all watched with concern for the two Earthers that were soul bonded to their leader, but she watched over them carefully. Carson turned to Ares and Wendy. "Lad, lass, i need to move them to the infirmary. Can we touch?" Ares seemed to think, watching the Doc and Stackhouse. He moved closer, nudged Stackhouse and Carson, and then nodded. Wendy didn't move, but seemed to nod all the same. "Bring the gurneys. Nobody touch them besides myself and Sergeant Stackhouse." Glad that Stackhouse had worked closely with Evan, Jaylah, Ares and Wendy the last few months, Stackhouse and Carson managed to get Jaylah and Evan onto the gurneys quickly. Their souls quickly jumped up as well, and they made quick work of getting to the infirmary.  
  


_atlantis control room..._

"People, listen up. No one gets to sit down until they clear two pieces of equipment off this deck. Now, let's go." Lieutenant Ford ordered.

"The last Zero-Point Module is depleted, but limited power has returned now that our own generators aren't going to hold back an ocean. Life support systems are working, but the planet's atmosphere is breathable, well, not withstanding the inevitable allergens." Rodney informed everyone gathered there. Ada was sitting at his feet.

"So now could our naquadah generator supply enough power to the shield for defensive purposes?" Elizabeth asked hopefully.

"Not even close." Rodney shook his head. He'd have liked to get a second opinion from Jay or Evan, but that wasn't happening anytime soon.

"On the surface without a shield? We're target practice." John's hands were shaking and his face hadn't regained any colour. If anything he was getting worse. Elizabeth didn't know his soulmate had been taken along with Jaylah and Evan's.

"I'm acutely aware of that, Major, but thank you for reinforcing it." Rodney said sarcastically.

"When can you tell me where the Wraith took Colonel Sumner and the others?" John asked Rodney, who scoffed.

"Even with the six symbols Lieutenant Ford provided there are still hundreds of permutations-"

"720." John interrupted, arms crossed.

"Yes. I knew that, of course. I'm just surprised you did." Rodney said.

"Take away the coordinates you can't get a lock on, and that's your one, and when you find it, send a MALP." John ordered. "And you've got 4 hours." When Rodney stepped away to do just that, John turned, ready to have to fight to convince Elizabeth when a pain unlike anything he'd ever felt before ripped through his chest and he was unable to stifle the shout of pain that escaped him. Elizabeth caught him before he hit the ground, but it was only just.

"Are you alright?" Elizabeth asked.

"No." John shook his head, desperately blinking away the tears building up in his eyes though he had a feeling he wasn't too successful. Nymeria landed on his other shoulder, running her beak through his hair.

"My soulmate, Elizabeth. He was taken and-" Elizabeth stared at him.

"How long?" Elizabeth asked carefully.

"Um, like 5 hours until i'm gonna be in as bad a state, if not worse than Major Lorne and Colonel McKay." John admitted.

"Major? A word." Elizabeth asked once she was sure they had recovered enough for the moment.

"Wow." Elizabeth said, awed. The two humans stood at the railing, overlooking the edge. Orion jumped up so his front legs are against the railing, and Nymeria landed on the railing beside him.

"Let me guess. You're not going to let me rescue our people." John said flatly. "Our soulmates?"

"Major, you don't even know if they're alive."

"You don't leave people in the hands of the enemy." John said fiercely. "And the fact that we are having this conversation in private lets me know that you know damn well that it's wrong and it will totally undermine your leadership. So as ranking military officer-"

"All right, just shut up and listen to me for a moment, all right? Come on, what do we know about the Wraith? One of the few things we do know is that they are the enemy that defeated the Ancients. When we first began to use the stargate we found on Earth, we got ourselves into serious trouble. Why?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't need a history lesson." John shook his head.

"Because the people in charge didn't consider the ramifications before they reacted."

"They took our people. How am I supposed to react?" John then span towards Elizabeth. "They took our Soulmates, Weir."

"And we're defenceless! You said so yourself." As much as she hated it, because soulmates were such a big deal, she couldn't let them go off on some kind of reckless rescue mission with nothing to go on.

"How do you know going off on some half-assed rescue mission isn't going to bring them all right back here to our doorstep?"

"Maybe it will...but it's the right thing to do. Why? Because it is."

"John-"

"If we're not going to do this, and I mean right now, let's just turn tail and pack up, because they're coming." John said angrily.

"You don't know that."

"Our people are in the hands of the enemy, Doctor." John said. "Do you know what that means? It is just a matter of time before the Wraith figure out that this is the base of our operation. And if we leave them there, what are you going to do when your highest ranking military officer is a Lieutenant who's never had a command before because Lorne, McKay and i die from the bond separation and Sumner and Bates die at the hands of the Wraith, or when Doctor McKay shuts down because his sister is dead? Huh? What then?" All of these points were good and she knew it, so Elizabeth took a breath.

"I just need more information. I mean, who knows? Maybe we could negotiate a peaceful-" John cut her off.

"Peaceful?" John said incredulously. "Are you kidding? We weren't there for more than a few hours before they showed up."

"Is it possible they came because of you?" Elizabeth pointed out. "And that one of these people you brought back here with you tipped them off?"

"It's possible." John dismissed.

"See, that is exactly the kind of snap decision I'm referring to." Elizabeth said loudly, exasperated.

"They're not all bad people, and you know, if we're going to stick around here, we need friends." John pointed out.

"Okay, I see your point. Now, you see mine. I will not authorize a rescue mission unless I am sure there's at least a remote chance of success. I'm not sending more good people, including you, to their deaths." Elizabeth stared at them with a serious look.

"Okay." John said.

"Elizabeth." John went to leave only to stop in the doorway. "If you met your soulmate, would you not do whatever you could to protect them?"

"Well yes but-"

"But nothing." John interrupted. "The fact that you aren't willing to save our people, never mind that if Teyla and Adrian die you'll have lost all of your military leaders and your chief science officer, and you might just loose the trust of the expedition. Think about that when the MALP goes through." John heads through the door with Nymeria, and Elizabeth leans against the railing.  
  
  
  


_location unknown..._

When Teyla wakes up in the Wraith holding cell, her chest feels tight, she has a headache and her body feels weak. She lets out a low groan of pain, alerting her brother to her wakefulness and he lowers himself beside her.

"Are you all right, sister?" Adrian asked carefully, helping his sister sit upright. Teyla groaned, pain radiating across her body.

"Where are we?" She asked instead, looking around. She couldn't see any of their souls and panic leapt into her chest.

"It appears that whatever those beams we got scooped up by discorporated our souls." Sergeant Bates explained upon realising what she was looking for.

"It's horrifying." One of the other Earth officers muttered, his arms crossed over his chest. No-one disagreed.

"Any idea what to expect?" Sumner asked.

"No." Teyla shook her head. She looked to her brother, who was pale and his hands seemed to be shaking. "Are you well?"

"Not particularly." Adrian admitted, leaning his forehead against the side of her head and closing his eyes.

"Your friend was the one who said the Wraith would come if we went down into the ruins."

"Perhaps you should have heeded his warning." Halling said with clear distain in his voice.

"How do I know he's not the one who told them?" Sumner asked. Footsteps sounded from outside of the cell, catching their attention.

"Someone comes." They back away from the cell door as a Wraith and two warrior guards approach. The main Wraith is a tall humanoid with pale skin of a greenish hue. Its hair is white and its features gaunt. It has a moustache. A slit is on either side of its cheek. The warriors are muscular with the same skin tone. They have white hair, but their facial features are covered with some kind of organic mask. The cell door opens and Sumner steps forward.

"I'm Colonel Marshall Sum—" The Wraith backhanded Sumner, knocking him halfway across the room. It's eyes land on Toran. One of the masked warriors approached him.

"No, please..." The Wraith warrior grabs Toran by the throat, lifts him up and starts to leave. They watch, helpless to do anything.

"Take me in his place!" Teyla shouted, stumbling to her feet. She only just fall doesn't due to Adrian's hands on her arms. Sumner follows suit.

"No, take me. We're the ones you're after, right? I'm their leader." Sumner said. The Wraith stares at Sumner dismissively before turning it's dark, sick gaze towards the Emmagan Siblings.

"You are both sick with the human disease." It spat. "You will both die in this cell, and we will laugh." They watch as it leaves with Toran and the warriors. The doors close behind them.

"They have no need to explain themselves." Teyla said shakily, her and Adrian slowly lowering themselves back onto the cold, foggy ground of their cell.

"Yeah, I got that." Sumner said grimly.

"Human disease?" Halling wondered.

"I suspect it means the bond separation sickness." Bates spoke up. "They'll both be dead in 8 hours if we don't get out of here in the next 5." A sick kind of stillness settles over the survivors.


	15. thirteen

**season 1 episode 1 &2 ; rising...**   
**part 13...**

_gate room/control room..._

A technician, Elizabeth, and Rodney study a monitor display that shows only darkness. A stressed out John Sheppard was pacing by the railing, his hair growing more and more wild as the hours go by. A glance at his watch told him he only had two hours before collapse. His chest ached and his Soulmark had started burning an hour ago, both signs of Soul Separation Syndrome. He knew very well what was going to happen next, and he was desperate not to let that happen. Nymeria was perched on the railing, tense, and Ada was circling the control consoles restlessly as Rodney worked.

"We're receiving visual telemetry." Doctor David Ko, one of the engineers and gate technicians announced.

"I can't see anything."

"No atmospheric readings at all." Rodney said, sounding pained. Elizabeth glanced over at him, worried. John and Grodin are watching a different monitor of the same data and spot a small round point of dim light before it quickly rotates offscreen.

"Hey, what was that?" John noticed. He didn't step closer, but Elizabeth wondered if that was because if he did he would collapse.

"Rotate the camera." David does, The camera shows rocks floating in space and rings surrounding a planet. The Stargate floats in orbit above the planet, the wormhole still active.

"Well, there goes that MALP." Rodney scoffed.

"It's in space." John said blankly, what awe that normally would have been there gone at the prospect that he couldn't rescuse them.

"It's in high orbit around a planet on the far side of the galaxy." Rodney said bitterly.

"Yeah, no shit McKay." John snapped, earning him a glare.

"Are you sure this is the right address?" Elizabeth asked McKay. The physicists head dropped, sighing.

"It's the only one we could get a lock on." He muttered, sounding pained.

"Very well. Shut it down. I'm sorry." Elizabeth walks away so she doesn't have to see the devastation her decision makes, while Rodney stares listlessly at the screen as the monitor goes dark. His bond with his sister was complicated, they both agreed on that, as had a soul bond assessor when they were 6 and 7. Due to their closeness in age and their complicated upbringing, Jay and Rodney had been very close growing up. Their relationship had been as close as any soulbond had been, and they'd always instinctively known when the other was hurt, or in pain, or distressed. That sense seemed to be in full swing as Rodney's chest felt like he'd been punched multiple times. Something then occurs to John, and he musters up enough strength to snap his fingers at John.

"Come with me, Major." They head out of the room together.  
  
  
  


_jumper bay..._

Rodney and John enter the ship, Ada slinking around curiously while Nymeria stayed firmly on his shoulder, her talons pinching his jacket. It lights up as they move inside. John walks to the pilot seat and touches the console. It immediately lights up, warm under his touch.

"You think you can fly it?" Rodney asked hopefully.

"What do you say we find out?" John suggested, glancing at his watch once more. One hour, 56 minutes and 12 seconds.  
  
  
  


_infirmary..._

Beckett is studying the Wraith forearm under heavy magnification when Elizabeth entered.

"Doctor Beckett, how are Lieutenant Colonel McKay and Major Lorne?" Elizabeth asked despite that not being the sole reason for her visit to the infirmary.

"It's not good." Carson admitted with a heavy sigh. "They're awake for the moment, but i can't guarantee they will be much longer and there's a gid chance they'll need to be moved into Isolation within the next 2 hours." He explained.

"I'll ask Staff Sergeant Michaels to start searching the medical floor for them." Elizabeth assured him.

"Thank you."

"Now, what was it you wanted me to see?" He turns to her and grinned. She stops short at seeing the specimen he's studying. He lifts it up.

"These cells have none of the normal human inhibiting proteins whatsoever. That gives them an incredible ability to regenerate." Beckett was in complete disbelief.

"What about the movement Major Sheppard saw?" Elizabeth asked.

"As far as independent behaviour, I'd say that anything he saw was caused by a residual command language in the severed nerve endings."

"All right, anything else?" She asked.

"The being this arm belonged to...if I was a betting man, I'd say it was old, very, very old."

"How old?" She asked, a little disgusted. He turns the hand over, showing a small puckered incision in the middle of the palm of the hand, surrounded by small holes.

"As long as the cells are properly nourished, I don't see a life form like this ever dying of natural aging the way we do...and they'd be bloody hard to kill."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"I don't blame you."

"Can i speak to Major Lorne and Colonel McKay?" Elizabeth asked.

"Aye, but make it quick. I'd like them to rest a little longer." Elizabeth walked over to where two of her four senior officers were laying. At first glance they appeared asleep, but a closer inspection revealed they were speaking quietly.

"Major, Colonel, how are we feeling?" Elizabeth asked them. Neither of them made a move to sit up despite their rank, which showed Elizabeth just how weak both of them had gotten in such a short time. Ares and Wendy were curled up on a second bed, Ares resting protectively against Wendy's large form that was sprawled across the pillows. Orion trotted over, making inquisitive noises to the two souls while Elizabeth spoke to Jay and Evan.

"Like shit, ma'am." Evan reported dryly. Jay grunted something that was probably akin to agreement and pressed her face deeper to Evan's shoulder. "How goes the search?"

"The gate address Lieutenant Ford gave us dropped the MALP in the middle of low orbit." Elizabeth informed them both. Jay made an inaudible noise against Evan's jacket, and Evan repeated it.

"Use the ships." Evan said, then blinked.

"What ships?" As if on cue, Elizabeth's radio activated and Rodney's voice came through.

"Weir, need you in the control room, asap."  
  
  


_jumper bay..._

Elizabeth and Rodney enter the room above the control room. A constant thrum, like of some kind of energy powered up echoes around the room consistently. There is no sign of John, Nymeria or the ship he was in.

"What is that noise?" Elizabeth asked. Ada made a low noise and Orion barked.

"I...I don't... He was right here. Major!" Rodney shouted, exasperated, then winced, placing a hand on his chest. Before Elizabeth gets the chance to question him the ship rematerializes from an invisible cloak, hovering in front of them, revealing John sitting in the pilots seat and Nymeria perched on the back. She blinked, wondering how Evan and Jay knew about the ships when they'd been in the infirmary since the first mission.

"You said you wanted a tactical advantage?" John said.

"All right, so you can fly that thing. It doesn't mean you can pull off a rescue." Elizabeth pointed out reasonably.

"Doctor...this is why you brought me here." John replied paitently. Elizabeth gapes at him, shaking her head. "Doctor Weir, please. Let me save them."  
  


_i_ _nfirmary..._

John swings by the infirmary before they are set to leave, sneaking past Carson and heading over to Jay and Evan. They were awake, conversing quietly.

"Major, is everything alright?" Jay asked when she noticed him approach.

"Yes ma'am. I thought it was best to let you know personally that i am going to attempt to rescue our people."

"We don't know anything about these Wraith, Major." Evan pointed out reasonably.

"No, we don't." John agreed. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't at least attempt a rescue."

"Go save our people, Major Sheppard." Jaylah ordered. John snapped off a salute.

"Yes ma'am." He paused before leaving. "I'm going to bring them back."

"I hope you're right, Major." Jay admitted. "Now go." They watched the Major head off, and she relaxed back against the pillows with a heavy exhale. Her entire body ached, her soulmark burned her hip. Evan shifted slightly, arm resting across her waist. Neither of them said anything, silently hoping that John succeeded, otherwise they didn't have much time left.  
  
  


_gateroom/control room/jumper bay..._

The control room is bustling with activity. Weir approaches Rodney, who is buzzing with nerves and holding one hand against his ribs almost subconsciously. Ada was wiggling with nervous energy and Orion was wagging his tail.

"Ready?"

"I have no idea. This technology is so far beyond us, I mean, we haven't a clue what we're dealing with. I mean, for all I know, we could..." Rodney said quickly, nervous. At her glare he stopped. "Yeah. Ready."

"All right, boys, get ready to go." Ford says as he walks past the marines in the rear compartment and takes the co-pilot seat, grinning excitedly. Souls flitted about the ground, Kali making excitable noises.

"You going to be alright, sir?" Ford asked John.

"I have to be, Lieutenant." John replied automatically. He'd gotten two painkillers from Carson before exiting the infirmary, dulling the pain enough to an ache rather than throbbing pain that he could manage.

"Alright. Gateship One ready to go."

""Gateship One"? A little puddle jumper like this?" John asked, scrunching up his face.

"It's a ship that goes through the 'gate—Gateship One." Ford defended his choice.

"Oh, no, no, no, that's all wrong."

"Doctor McKay thought it was cool." Ford said rather petulantly.

"Oh, okay, well, it's official...You don't get to name anything, ever." Ford deflated a little. "Flight, this is...Puddle Jumper. We're go to launch."

" _This is Flight. I thought we were going with Gateship_."

"Negative, Flight." John sounded a little irritated.

" _Stand by. It's a ship that goes through the gate. Uh...fine. Puddle Jumper, you are clear for launch_."

"Dial it up, Lieutenant." Ford starts to dial the jumper's DHD. The Stargate activates. The ceiling retracts as the jumper lowered into the Gate Room. John mans the controls and it flies through the active wormhole. The Stargate shuts down.

"Be safe."  
  
  
  


_unknown location, orbit..._

"Wow. This is cool." John said in awe as they fly out of the gate into open space. The planet appears out the windshield, huge.

"It looks like you've got the hang of it." Ford noticed.

"I tell you what, Lieutenant. I know a lot of fighter pilots who'd kill to fly this thing. It's like it reads your mind." A display appears superimposed on the windshield in front of them, displaying lots of data that hardly made sense to them.

"Did you do that?" Ford asked nervously.

"I was just...wondering where we go from here." John admitted, voice tight with pain. He slammed his eyes shut for a moment, riding out the wave of pain that seemed to start in his leg and sweep across his body. It was a good thing he was already seated, otherwise he would have collapsed.

"I'll take that as a yes." He glanced over at John, then blanched. "Major, are you alright?"

"Hngh, i'm fine." John panted, the pain subsiding. "Sorry."

"So how do we find them once we land?" Ford asked, changing the subject. John was relieved.

Well, I've been thinking about that too." He admitted. From beside John a small hand held device pops out of the wall. John pulls it out hesitantly, looks at it, shrugs, and puts it in a pocket. "Now I'm thinking about a nice turkey sandwich." They both glance around for several seconds, but nothing happens.

"Worth a try." Ford shrugged.  
  
  
  
  


_wraith cell..._

When the Wraith return, Teyla is unconscious, leaning against Adrian who had gone pale. They were leaning against one of the walls, despite how disgusting it was. When they entered it looked straight at Sumner, then hisses and stalks away. With one last glance at Bates, then Teyla and Adrian, he followed the Wraith away from the cell and the door closes. Bates watches them go, and Adrian held his sister closer.

"How is she?" Halling asked quietly, crouching down beside them. He doesn't touch them, knowing what that kind of interference could do from someone who wasn't a part of their soul group.

"She's hanging in there."

"Not much longer." Bates attempted assuringly. "I'm sure they're mounting a rescue as we speak."


	16. fourteen

**season 1 episode 1 &2 ; rising...**   
**part 14...**

_wraith planet..._

John managed to land the jumper without much more effort, although his entire body was tense with pain and Ford could see it. Which meant if he could then their men definitely could. John and Ford exchange a look before standing, heading for the back of the jumper.

"Lock and load." Ford ordered. The jumper de-cloaked as it landed, the team exiting and spreading out, weapons at ready. Souls are milled about, and John clicks his tongue twice.

"Fly." Nymeria stretches her wings. "Let me know, Ny."

"Of course Johnny." She launches launched herself from his shoulder and into the sky with a caw.

"All right, teams of two. Learn what you can and lay down your defences as you see fit. I want to be able to light this place up if we have to. Aviation souls should scower the skies." Miller whistles and his soul Zeus, a red-tailed Hawk, takes flight, going in the opposite direction of Nymeria. John turned to Stackhouse. "Two clicks, you're clear to talk."

"Yes, sir." Stackhouse nodded, glancing around.

"Do not engage the enemy." John said, then turned to Aidan and tapped his shoulder. "You're with me."

"Sir, may i make a suggestion?" Ford asked before they could leave.

"What is it Lieutenant?"

"I suggest we take Lance Corporal Reid. No offence sir, but you're not exactly looking so hot, sir." John glanced at his watch. 11 minutes remaining.

"Reid, with us." John ordered. Lance Corporal Zach Reid nodded his head, cocking his P90 and smirking.

"Yes sir." Backing up, the three men and their souls headed towards the wraith base that loomed overhead.  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_dining room..._

Sumner is led to a large room. There is food set up on a table, including the head of a mastadge. The skeletal remains of Toran sit on a chair. Sumner recognizes him by his clothes. He warily looks around. There is a darkened ceiling with several interlocking triangular honeycombs. He starts at a noise and turns around, and though he would never admit it he wished desperately that Tony was there. Behind his back a Wraith Queen leaps down to the floor. She has similar features to the male Wraith, but her hair is red. He feels her presence and turns to face her, frightened.

"You must feel hunger by now." She hissed.  
  
  
  
  
  


_hallway..._

A drone warrior stalked down a passage inside the facility. Behind it John, Aidan and Zach creep down the hallway silently, moving into the hall when the drone disappeared.

"Those are the ugliest bastards i've ever seen." Zach said, disgusted. Marie drops to the floor and easily sizes herself to be the size of a small dog, arching her spines defensively. Aidan makes an appreciative noise as Kali lops ahead, scouting.

"Kali, keep watch." Aidan ordered.

"Halls are clear, so is the next one." Kali assured.

"I thought getting in was going to be the hard part. That's the first one we've seen." Aidan sets some C-4 into the wall and primes it. John studies the handheld device he took from the jumper.

"The moving dot should be him. Go over there." Aidan moved forward and Zach takes several steps back, and John nodded as two more dots appear. There's a smaller, pale shape that appears beside the two life signs, so John figured it must pick up souls as well. "Yeah, that's you two."

"So, we've got ourselves a life-signs detector." Aidan smirked and John rolled his eyes, hard.

"We can name it later." Only, when he goes to move he has to stifle a yelp of pain. His vision whites out, and when he blinks his eyes back open he's lying on the floor and Zach and Aidan are looking down at him.

"Sir? Major are you alright?"

"Uh, not really."

"You gonna let me help you, Sir?" Zach asked, holding his hand out.

"Don't touch my bare skin." John shuddered and the man nodded. Instead, he pulled a pair of leather gloves on swiftly and then pulled the Major up, who made a distressed noise of pain as his arm was pulled around Zach's neck, and his arm went around John's back.

"Let's go." Aidan nodded.  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_wraith cell..._

Bates is standing at the door of the cell when a noise in the corridor catches his attention. When he see's Aidan leading John and Zach down the corridor he gestures to everyone.

"Major?" Bates called. Adrian lifted his head, then saw the three men in the doorway.

"Shh. Are you all right?"

"Me? You look like hell, sir." Bates said bluntly.

"Great, that's just what i wanted to hear right now Sergeant." John grunted. "There's not a lot of time."

"The Major is about to go into bond shock, sir." Zach informed Bates seriously. His eyes widened and he turned around, crossing the cell to Adrian.

"Adrian, can you stand?" Bates asked.

"Help me?" He requested, holding his arm out.

"Is my son alive?" Halling asked them.

He's well and waiting for you." John assured him. He looked inside the cell as Bates helped Adrian to his feet, holding his arm over his long sleeve rather than touching bare skin, as protocol dictated in this situation. He saw Teyla laying on the floor and that Gunnery Sergeant Connor Westley was standing guard. He couldn't see any souls, though, which was deeply unsettling. There's zero hesitation when John reached through the cell door and grabbed onto Adrian's outstretched hand and both men audibly sigh in relief, their bond settling with a snap. It was stronger than the original pre-bond they had formed when they first met. at least a level 2 bond.

"Where are your souls?" Zach asked, glancing around the cell in confusion.

"It appears that whatever the wraith use to scoop up their victims discorporated our souls for an undetermined amount of time." Connor informed them grimly. Kali crawled over Aidan's shoulder, tail wrapping around his neck. The three men looked deeply unsettled.

"Is Teyla alright?" John asked.

"No." Adrian admitted grimly. "I fear she only has a few hours left."

"We'll be back on Atlantis long before that happens." John said firmly. "Where's Colonel Sumner?"

"He was taken by the Wraith." Bates informed him seriously.

"We don't know where." Adrian added.

"Well, how about when?" John asked.

"Not long." Halling said.

"I knew something had to go wrong." John groaned. Feeling much steadier on his feet, Zach pulls back from John, letting his Commanding Officer stand on his own two feet. John clicked his radio twice.

" _This is Stackhouse. Go ahead, sir._ " Robert answered after a brief moment.

"How about a diversion in a little bit?" John asked. "You're going to need to make some noise out there."

_"Yes, sir._ " Stackhouse replied.

"I can just hear him smirking, sir." Zach said cheerfully.

"Distractions are his forte, sir." Aidan added.

"Rig up enough C-4 to blow a hole and get these people out of here on my signal, all right?" John ordered. He held up the life-signs detector. "I can find the Colonel with this. There aren't that many Wraith around. I should be able to do this. If I'm not back in twenty minutes, blow the cells and get out." John glanced at Adrian, but he seemed to understand more than John thought he would, because he nodded once.

"You're the only one who can fly these people out of here." Aidan reminded him.

"Yeah, I'm going to fly us all out of here, including the Colonel."

"I'm saying I should be the one to go, sir."

"Twenty minutes...I'll find him."

"And i'll be with him." Zach added, standing straighter, not going to take no for an answer. "Ford will be fine getting these fine people out of here. You on the other hand were going into organ failure less than 5 minutes ago."

"We don't have time to argue, let's go." Before Adrian let his hand go he pulled John closer and through the hole in the cell door he pressed their foreheads together.

"Be safe."

"Twenty minutes." John assured, stepping away. "Let's go."  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_dining room..._

"What do you call yourself?" The Queen asked.

"Colonel Marshall Sumner, United States Marine Corps." He replied.

"So little fear. Is it valor...or ignorance?" She sounded amused, which didn't bode well for Sumner.

"We travel through the Stargate as peaceful explorers." He tried.

"You must eat, yet you resist your hunger. Why?"

"Why have you taken my people prisoner?" He asked instead of replying. Clearly she was humouring him when she replied.

"You trespassed upon our feeding ground."

"Feeding ground?" He asked, sounding puzzled.

"All living things must eat." She answered, sounding nonchalant, which just made him feel even more uneasy. "In this, I am sure we are similar. You feel hunger even now. I can sense it. Yet you resist. Why?"

"Why do you care?"

"Hunger...is distasteful." She replied disdainfully. Sumner looked over at Toran's corpse nervously.

"It looks to me like the food didn't agree with him."

"There, we are quite dissimilar, Colonel Sumner. We don't require...our food to agree with us." As she strokes one finger down the skeleton's cheek, Sumner stares in shock and his stomach sank.  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_corridor..._

John and Zach move silently down the corridor, using the life signs detector to guide them towards Sumner. Marie followed silently, watching their six, spines arched.  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_dining room..._

"What do you call your world?" She asked. Sumner does not answer. The queen approached him, her voice echoing. "What do you call your world? _What...do you call...your world_?" The echo repeats. Sumner struggles to resist.

"Earth." He said reluctantly, out of control.

"It is not among our stars." The Queen mused.

"No." Sumner said reluctantly.

"Tell me of Earth. How many more are there of your kind? Thousands? Millions?" Sumner closes his eyes, wincing and shaking to resist her. "More." Sumner opens his eyes, looking defeated. The queen is exultant. "Our feeding ground has not been so rich in ten thousand years."  
  
  
  
  


_corridor..._

Zach and John are getting closer, the life signs appearing.  
  
  
  
  


_dining room..._

"Your will is strong. This one," she gestures to Toran, "begged for its life."

"Is that the kind of treatment I can expect for myself and my people?" Sumner asked, trying to sound casual though he's sure it came out more forced than he intended.

"As I have said, all living things must eat."

"Then we're done talking."

"I think not. Kneel." She draws a finger down Sumner's face, her voice taking on that alluring, hypnotic tone. "Kneel..." Sumner, against his own will, falls to his knees with a grunt. "I have not tasted such strength in so long." She rips his t-shirt with one stroke of her hand, baring his chest.

"Go to hell." Sumner spat.

"Earth first." The Queen hissed, smacking her palm onto his chest, and Sumner lets out a scream of pain. John and Zach bolted towards the sound of Sumner screaming, the sound echoing through them.

"How many years must I take from you before you tell us what I wish to know? Or shall I take them all?" Sumner's face contorts in agony as he continues to yell. He begins to age, and the Wraith show the humans just how dangerous they truly are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> zachary quinto as lance corporal zach reid and marie - porcupine who can change sizes


	17. fifteen

**season 1 episode 1 &2 ; rising...**   
**part 14...**

_corridor..._

John and Zach stop for a brief moment, getting their bearings, before continuing.  
  
  
  
  


_dining room..._

The Wraith Queen's hand is flat on Sumner's chest, palm against his heart. Sumner's head rocks as he continues to scream in pain. His face looks sunken and aged, like he's 80 years old instead of 40.

"Where is this new feeding ground?" The queen asked.

"I won't." Sumner still refuses.

John and Zach lower themselves to the ground and belly crawl from a side corridor, finding a spot where they can look into the dining room from one of the skylight windows overhead. The Queen has her back to them, but they can see Colonel Sumner. The Queen has her hand on his chest and she appears to be literally sucking the life out of him. Zach and John exchange a quick glance, then put two rounds in the Queen's back and then takes out a few of the drone soldiers milling about the room. The Queen hisses in rage and she seems to double her efforts, digging her nails into the Colonel's chest and he starts to age faster, which appears to heal the Queen rather quickly. Zach takes the other guard down while John stares at Sumner's nearly skeletal appearance and he makes eye contact with John. Zach watches as Sumner nodded once, then John raised his rifle, shifted his aim from the Queen's head to Sumner's chest and put's a round in his chest. It pierces through the Queen's hand and Sumner falls, dead. The Queen stared at her hand, annoyed, then both Zach and John are hit from behind and stunned.

"Bring them."  
  
  
  


_dining room..._

One of the warriors pin John by his throat, digging in on either side of his trachea and he lets out a choked noise. Zach, being held by two more warriors, struggled, letting out pained gasps at the horrific feeling of the Wraith holding onto Marie, who was shrieking.

"How's the hand feeling?" John asked, voice strained. John and Zach watch in muted horror as the bullet hole healed quickly, like it never happened. She flexes her hand, smirking.

"Much better." She grinned.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Zach snarked, jerking. The warrior tightened his hold on Zach's arms and on Marie, causing him to make a pained groan. The Queen spots the life signs detector sticking out of John's vest.

"How did this come to you?" She asked.

"I don't remember." John lied. She snarls, knowing he was lying and just then. Ford enters, shooting both her and the guard. John rolled and Zach lashed out, taking the first Wraith down then shooting them both without hesitation, scooping up a now smaller version of Marie and putting her in his vest. John keyed his radio. "Light it up."  
  
  
  


_outside..._

Stackhouse backs towards the jumper and flicks the detonation button, explosions rocking the facility.  
  
  
  


_dining room..._

The Queen screamed in rage as the three humans start shooting.  
  
  
  


_wraith cell..._

"Cover!" Bates shouted. Adrian hauls his sister up and they back away just in time as the door exploded.  
  
  
  


_dining room..._

The Queen continues to scream as Aidan shoots more guards who arrive. John stays down by the table, momentarily overcome with pain, while Zach, armed with only his 9mm, shoots at the wraith while covering John. He picks up the downed Wraith's weapon, which has a large pointed end, and rolls up and out to stab the Queen through, using the weapon as a javelin.

"That has to kill you." He grunted. He pulls out the weapon. The Queen collapses on the ground as John looked up at Aidan.

"How'd you find us?" John asked.

"Tread marks. Standard issue. Sir, let's go." Aidan jerked his head.

"You don't know what you have done. We are merely the caretakers for those that sleep. When I die, the others will awaken. All of them." They watch as she dies, letting out one final exhale before going silent. Kali made an inquisitive noise.

"She's so ugly, Aidan."

"Oh yeah. What's she talking about? How many are left?" He asked John, worried. Crouching down John scooped up the life signs detector and looked at the screen. Multiple dots start showing up on the screen, multiplying with every second and when they look up they see the honeycomb ceiling lighting up. Hundreds of Wraith appear to be awakening, one in each chamber.

"Sir, we need to leave."

"Let's go." Zach said.

"Base, we're on the move." John said, keying his radio.

" _So are we_." Bates replied. " _Colonel Sumner?_ "

Negative." They make a break for it.

_atlantis gate room..._

Elizabeth is standing watching the stargate with worried eyes when Rodney walked up beside her.

"Doctor Weir. We're getting reports in from all over the city. There's some pretty interesting stuff. We've only been able to provide power to certain sections, but even then, the things that are coming up are just..." He notices her sombre expression and his voice trails off.

"I should never have let them go." Elizabeth said carefully.

"For what it's worth, you made the right decision. Give them time." Rodney leaves, heading back up to the control room, which means he's half way up the stairs when his knees give out and he falls forward with a surprised shout.

"McKay!" Elizabeth and Peter rush to his side, practically sprinting up the stairs.

"Rodney." Peter put a hand on his shoulder, only to jerk it away when Rodney made a pained noise at the contact. "Rodney, do you have a soulbond with anyone on the away team?"

"I'm a blank." Rodney shook his head, voice strained. "No soul bonds to speak of, but thanks for that reminder."

"Doctor McKay." Elizabeth said more firmly.

"Doctors back on Earth always thought that Jay and I had a sibling bond." Rodney admitted, pain mostly back to a dull ache. "But we never had any marks or-or side effects of being so far apart so we never gave it any thought."

"Well i think it's time you do." Elizabeth keyed her radio. "Doctor Beckett, please come to the control room, Doctor McKay is in need of assistance."

"On my way." The radio clicked off. Rodney, sitting on the step rather than sprawled across three, just let out a sigh, crossed his arms across his knees and rested his forehead against his arms.  
  
  
  
  


_wraith planet..._

" _Major, the Jumper is secure for the moment, but we have a big problem._ " Stackhouse reported.

"Lieutenant, LC, take our six. I'm going to take them back to the Jumper. Nymeria!" John looked up when he heard cawing.

"This way!" Nymeria told him seriously, flying towards the jumper.

"Follow Ny." John told the Athosians, pointing to the sky. When they saw her, they understood and followed.

"I'll be right behind you."

"You got it Major." Aidan and Zach slow and turn around as the group head towards the jumper. Adrian fires into the stillness, catching wisps of visions and Zach spun. Adrian suddenly appears behind him and disarms him, flips the gun around and gives it back to him, holding a hand out to Zach.

"There's nothing there." He said, sounding irritated.

"I'm sure I saw something." Aidan insisted.

"Only what the Wraith wish you to see!" Adrian shouted. "Firing your weapon will reveal our position. Come on." Pushing both men forward, they started towards the jumper.

John stopped in the clearing as the Athosians, Bates and Westley run past, aiming his weapon around him. The sound of approaching wraith ships fill his ears.

"Get in!" John roared. Halling moves quickly, carrying Teyla's unconscious form carefully and lowers her across one of the back seats. John grabbed one of the marines' rifles and aims it towards the sky, the rest of the men following suit.  
  
  
  
  
  


_near clearing..._

Adrian, Zach and Aidan run towards the clearing, being chased by a wraith dart. Adrian knocked Aidan to the side, then tackled Zach. They dove out of the way just in time, and John is standing before them, shooting down the overhead ship. Aidan smiled.

"Thank you, sir." Aidan and Zach said.

"Let's try not to make a habit of this." John said teasingly, helping them up and they run back towards the jumper. John tries not to smile as Adrian's hand wraps around his free one as they run. Wraith ships fly overhead as they run inside.

"We have incoming!" Stackhouse shouted, backing into the jumper as he does. The ramp lifts and closes them inside behind Nymeria and Zeus and John dragged Adrian towards the front of the ship, sitting in the pilots seat. Ford took the co-pilot's seat as the ship lit up, and Nymeria landed on Adrian's shoulder. Kali climbs up the back of Ford's seat and jumps onto the control console, unable to keep her excitement at seeing space hidden.

"Okay...now what am I thinking?" John murmured to the ship. He reluctantly let's go of Adrian's hand in order to grab the controls, and Adrian immediately puts a hand on John's neck, keeping the skin-to-skin contact. "Kali, please don't step on any of the controls."

"I won't." Kali said, relayed through Ford. John nodded, and doesn't ask her to move, so she settles directly under the window as the ship lifts up into the air.

"Everybody okay back there?" John called back.

"Miss Emmagan isn't doing so hot, sir." Zach called back. John glanced over his shoulder to where Robert and Zach were checking the unconscious woman over. The other athosians were squeezed onto the other bench and the floor, and the soul animals all kept themselves out of the way as best they could, Zeus on Miller's shoulder. Halling had his hand hovering over her forehead, not touching.

"She's burning up, Major." Halling said seriously. "She doesn't have much time." Behind him, Adrian made a vaguely distressed noise and John lifted a hand up to squeeze his fingers briefly, then focused on flying. Nymeria turned her head and pushed her beak through Adrian's hair in a gesture that was more soothing than he expected it to be.

"Hope that was the hard part." Ford said quietly. As they enter orbit, they see several of the small Wraith ships flanking the space gate.

"Oh, crap." John swore. "I don't think we've gotten to the hard part yet."

"What can we do?" Adrian asked.

"We're safe as long as they can't see us." Aidan pointed out.

"They don't have to. There's only one way for us to go. The minute we activate the Stargate, they can start shooting blind and blow us away on out approach." John explained.

"Then how can we get through?" Aidan asked.

"We have to draw them away from the gate and double back." John de-cloaks the jumper and flies away from the gate. Several dart ships break formation and give chase. "Be prepared to dial the gate on my mark." John ordered. Aidan's hand hovers over the first chevron, the atmosphere inside the jumper tense. One of the darts fly towards the jumper.

"Do you see anything like a weapons console over there?" John asked Aidan. Before he could do anything though the ship once again reads his mind and a drone is launched, destroying the dart. The jumper continues to dodge fire from the other dart ships as it circles back to the Stargate.

"Try and go invisible again." Aidan suggested.

"I tried." John said, wincing. "It must be damaged. Dial the gate." Aidan dialled the gate, smacking the middle chevron.  
  
  
  
  
  


_10 minutes earlier.._   
_atlantis control room..._

"Are you experiencing any other symptoms other than the weakness in the legs and the sharp pain in your ribs?" Carson asked Rodney. Together Elizabeth and Peter managed to help Rodney into the control room and onto a chair, and the physicist had a pinched expression and was considerably grouchier than he had been before.

"No." Rodney shook his head. Ada licked his hand.

"I just moved the Major and the Colonel into Isolation 3." Carson explained grimly. Bex made a chittering noise that only Carson understood, and he nodded. "Aye. Both fell unconscious 30 minutes ago, and 11 minutes ago Colonel McKay had a seizure and Major Lorne began having trouble breathing." Rodney made a noise that was absolutely out of character and bowed over, breath coming in heavy pants and Ada whined, licking his cheek and wiggling her way under his arms. Over his head Peter, Carson and Elizabeth all exchanged looks of worry, and then the Stargate activated.

"Off-world activation!" Peter shouted, startling Ziggy who gazed around with worry. Elizabeth rounded the console to the computer, Orion wagging his tail.

Raise the shield." Elizabeth ordered.  
  
  
  
  
  


_space..._

The jumper continues to dodge Wraith blasts. The Stargate is active, but two darts still guard it. Drones hit one of them as the jumper flies past the Stargate without going through.

"Be ready to punch in your code on the next pass." John ordered. Aidan pulled out his GDO.

"What's the range on these things?"  
  
  
  


_atlantis control room..._

Do we have an identification code?" Elizabeth asked. Rodney stumbled over to a laptop and lifted his head, then shook his head.

"Nothing yet."  
  
  
  


_space..._

John shoots out the remaining ship guarding the Stargate.

"Enter your code!" John ordered.  
  
  
  


_atlantis control room..._

I'm reading Lieutenant Ford's IDC." Rodney said.

"Let them in." Elizabeth ordered. Peter hit the shield button, lowering it. Some errant blasts come through the Stargate. The marines on gate duty dive out of the way with shouts of surprise and beside them Carson keys his radio, calling a medical team to the jumper bay.

"Give them a few more seconds!" Elizabeth shouted.  
  
  
  
  


_space..._

We're going too fast." Aidan said frantically.

I know." John said tightly. The jumper's drive pods suddenly retract and it coasts through the Stargate, still at high speed. Three small Wraith dart ships follow.  
  
  
  
  


_atlantis..._

The jumper flies through and comes to a rather quick halt. "Re-activate the shield!" The shield stops the other ships from passing through, then the gate shuts down. Rodney breathes a sigh of relief, and he and Grodin join Weir at the balcony. The jumper floats back up into the bay.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Atlantis. Please remain seated till the Puddle Jumper's come to a full and complete stop." John's hands are shaking, adrenaline coursing through them as Adrian and Halling exchange relieved smiles.


End file.
